The Wait
by Heartz4Jesus
Summary: Chihiro is down with leukemia, and with her limited days left, all she desires is to return to the land of her dreams, but even after reuniting with everyone, how long can she stay with her friends, and most importantly, Haku?
1. Waiting

The Wait: Waiting

A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for clicking on this story and I truly hope that you'll find this story to your liking! (: God bless you and yeah. Here's the chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

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_People think waiting is a passive word, but in actuality, it's an active verb._

_It is an action that requires much determination, hope, faith, perseverance and strength._

_And sometimes, even love. _

The silent rustle of leaves filled the calm air, some dry ones falling to decorate the brown soil below. Little sparrows hopped about, their little beaks reaching swiftly for the tiny bread crumbs graciously sprinkled about to fill their stomachs. A young woman watched them, humming along to a soft, relaxing melody. The corners of her lips turned up into a soft and gentle smile as she adored the cute birds. Turning her head, she shifted into a slightly more comfortable position on her favorite wooden bench and stared out into the distant sunset.

Glorious streaks of gold, orange and reddish-pink painted the enchanting horizon, and the woman sighed in awe at the beauty of it all. Her hand reached out to the semi-circle of yellow, her fingers wriggling about gently while her mind slowly travelled, winding time back into her past.

"_Chihiro-chan, will you go out with me?" Hikaru asked all of a sudden, his face flushing a deep red. His fingers fidgeted about with unease while he waited for the girl of his dreams to answer. The young girl, dumbstruck with surprise, took some time for his words to register. She recovered quickly though, and racked her brains for an appropriate answer to provide her close friend with. "…I…" _

"_You can take your time to think about it, there's no rush, and I won't be offended even if you reject me," he blurted out again in a hurry, sensing an imminent rejection. His nerves were getting the best of him. "I'm sorry, Hikaru…" she muttered, her face downcast. Somewhere, deep inside of her, she couldn't forget him. She just couldn't. But, right then, she was certainly conscious of her close friend's feelings, deathly afraid of being unable to maintain their close friendship like before after giving her answer. _

_Hikaru's smile faded, but made a commendable effort to keep his face bright and mask his downcast feelings. He nodded, laughed awkwardly and then excused himself, deciding to take the rest of the route home alone. Chihiro's chest felt like it was being constricted. Soft tears glazed her cheeks as she stared after the figure of her best friend, watching as it grew smaller and smaller, till it was out of sight. A few agonizing minutes passed before her legs regained their senses and shuffled slowly, bringing her back home. Alone. _

She exhaled and took another look at the sparrows that were almost finishing their meal. Their rhythmic chirping filled in the silence that was beginning to surround her. Her mind then wound back slowly to another painful memory that played vividly in front of her eyes.

_Hasty click-clacks of a woman's heels sounded clearly through the hallways as she jogged past rooms, past doctors and nurses, her panicked eyes turning watery. Her hair was in a mess and her forehead sweaty. Short pants left her as she continued with the painful exercise. Her legs would surely suffer later, but she couldn't care less. She was already running out of time. Making a left turn down the hall like she had done so many times, she easily located the door. Turning the knob quickly, she rushed in, hazel eyes big as she saw the doctors and nurses moving aside from the bed, allowing her space. Her mother was kneeling on the other side of the bed, crying her eyes out while holding on to her dying husband's frail hand. _

_She hurried over to the bedside, dropping to her knees, throwing her handbag to a corner and grabbing the fragile patient's hand. His wrinkled hand trembled slightly against her cheek where she held it, and she looked on helplessly at his tired eyes that were struggling to keep open. _

"_Dad..! I'm here, I'm here…" she cried anxiously. Tears spilled out of her eyes as she watched the frail man turn his head ever so slightly with whatever strength he could muster. His half-opened eyes took a look at her, taking a few seconds to recognize her before a weak smile formed on his wrinkled face. _

"_Chi…hiro…" he called softly. _

_She nodded furiously, sniffling. "I'm here, Dad. You'll be alright. Don't worry, okay?" He closed and opened his eyes, like the understanding, wise man he was in his semi-lucid state. _

"_Take… care of… yourself… I love you… my baby girl…" he muttered, squeezing her hand so softly it was barely even felt. _

"_No! You've been fighting for so long! You can't give up! You can't leave me! You can't leave me and Mom alone! Don't leave me…" The girl burst into huge sobs, crying against her beloved father's chest. It rose and lowered softly as she inhaled his lemon mint scent; her favorite scent. He slowly raised his hand, patting and stroking her soft hair. _

"_I'm always with you…" he said, fingers pushing her chin up, revealing her tear-streaked face and smudged eye make-up. "I'll be in here…" he pointed his finger to her heart, "always…" _

_His hand then lost its strength, and the room was filled with only the high piercing sound of the sustained tone of the machine. _

The woman turned her eyes back to the carefree sparrows, but realized they were now gone. Shifting her focus back to the sunset, the negative emotional feelings tugged at her heart, threatening to make the moisture in her tired eyes fall, but as soon as they had come, they disappeared as her mind was already on its own leaving for another world, an unknown world to many, whereas she was the privileged one, or the not so fortunate one of having discovered it.

_The young girl begged her parents to leave. The place was filled with quaint and old houses, tucked side by side along the path. Her parents eyed the food greedily and soon, they were chomping down hungrily, despite her pleas to leave. She was sure she was throwing a child's tantrum, but she was adamant about the feeling in her gut that told her something was wrong. Very wrong. And that they needed to leave. _

"_Come on, you guys!" she impatiently exclaimed again, getting overly jittery. They ignored her again, too caught up in eating the food that did indeed smell appetizing and fragrant. She looked around uneasily, gripping her long shirt tightly to dry her clammy palms. Chihiro frowned, staring at them and willing them to change their minds and just leave, but she gave up since they did not show any indication of intending to leave soon. Grumbling to herself, she stalked off, not wanting to stand there idly watching her parents eat. _

_The child, taking her time to decide where to explore, walked to the right where she saw a flight of steps and a building of some sort that read 'Abura'. Piqued with interest, she turned back to take one last look at her parents for any sign of returning, but when she received none of the sort, went ahead. _

_At the top of the tall steps, the tall sign towered above her puny figure and to her right, discovered a bathhouse that stood magnificently across a bridge. "That's weird…" she muttered to herself. "It's a bathhouse." Why on earth would there be a bathhouse in the middle of nowhere? And it seemed to be in business, which was a little out of place in the obsolete area. _

_Enjoying the muffled sounds of her shoes against the wooden planks, she went over to the red railing and looked over, just in time to catch the sight of a train. "There's the train!" Seeing something that was finally worth more interest than mere food, she dashed to the other side of the bridge to see the train go past. That was when she realized there was someone else on the bridge. _

_Her brown orbs met deep emerald green ones, and his surprised expression was reflected in her face as well. Where had he come from? He gasped as he took a good look at her, making her lean back from the railing, thinking he was going to scold her for standing on the railings like what her teachers and parents would do all the time. _

_The boy, who looked to be only 1 or 2 years older than her, blinked and took a few steps towards her. "You shouldn't be here. Get out of here, now!" _

_His harsh tone surprised her and she jumped off. "What?"_

"_It's almost night. Leave, before it gets dark," he said it as if it were obvious to anyone who had the slightest speck of common sense in them. _

_It was then that the lampposts standing guard on either side of the aburaya's entrance dimmed, while its interior brightened up. He turned back, the frown seeming to have been etched onto his face permanently. "They're lighting the lamps." _

_Without warning, he pushed her. "Get out of here. You've got to get across the river, go! I'll distract them!" _

_As she descended the flight of steps in a hurry, she only then realized it was getting dark, and the place began to light up as she passed almost magically. Halfway down, she rubbed her eyes in confusion. "What's up with him..?" she paused to wonder before continuing down, deciding to take his warning seriously, seeing his immense urgency. _

_At the bottom of the steps, continuing to trace her way back, the little shops began to light up. Chihiro didn't notice it at first, her mind solely concentrated on getting her parents to leave. However, when she finally paused to make a turn around the corner, she noticed the black, translucent ghosts appear out of nowhere, which to say the least, freaked her out. "Mom! Dad!" she continued shouting, trying to calm her nerves with the reminder that her parents were there. _

"_Come on! Quit eating! Let's get out of here!" she tugged on her father's shirt, not at all noticing that the couple had become a little too large since the last time she'd seen them. It was only when her 'dad' turned around that it dawned on her: Those things were definitely not her parents. All she did was gasp and back away, helplessly watching as the two pigs continued sloshing their way through the food. _

_Then, she did the only thing she could do: Run._

"_Mom! Dad! Where are you?!" she screamed, her voice echoing throughout eerily. She could not believe that those animals were her parents. She had to find them. _

_All she saw were black ghosts all around. Everywhere. She felt small and weak. Fright crept up her spine as her head whipped in all directions. She needed her parents. "Mommy! Ahh!" _

_The girl ran and ran as fast as she could, trying as best as possible to avoid the tall creatures that could be potential ghosts that ate humans or something of the sort. Her legs, all of a sudden, seemed to know where to go, and took her back to where she had come from. They pushed forward, engaging her muscles in vigorous exercise and using up much of her limited stamina. _

_It was only when she felt wetness on the bottom half of her clothes did she stop. "Water?!" she exclaimed, completely flabbergasted._

* * *

_She crouched down on the grass, curling up into a tiny ball. The little girl was absolutely petrified, and she didn't know what on earth was going on. She wanted to believe it was all just a dream. Yes, it was just a dream. But inside, she knew, she couldn't fool herself. This was reality. Her parents had been turned into a disgusting pair of unsightly pigs. And danger was imminent for her, had she not been assisted. _

_A pair of gentle hands held her shoulders and startled, she gasped and looked up, only to find herself staring in a handsome boy's deep emerald eyes. "Don't be afraid. I just want to help you," he said carefully with a beautiful crystal voice. _

"_No… no, no, no!" she shook her head, evidently afraid of him being one of the bad guys who were trying to kidnap her and turn her into a pig as well. _

"_Open your mouth and eat this." The boy held up a plain-looking berry. "You have to eat some food from this world or else you'll disappear," he warned, seeing her reluctance to trust him. _

"_No!" her hands stuck out forwards, but instead of hitting his face, they went right through, much to her shock and horror. He was unfazed by it though; he remained as composed as ever. "Don't worry, I won't turn you into a pig." _

_Deciding to trust him, she opened her mouth and let him put the berry in. "Chew it, and swallow." It had a very strange taste; nothing like she'd tasted before. She couldn't say she liked it though, but for the sake of becoming solid again, she had to listen. _

"_There you go, you're all better. See for yourself." _

_Brushing her fingertips against his solid, strong palm, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief and comfort. His tender eyes emitted a comfortable radiance that she found herself being attracted to. "I'm okay…" she murmured in disbelief. _

Chihiro sighed and leaned back on the wooden bench, hearing a soft creak from its aged boards. A tiny smile played on her lips as she relived that memory. The boy who'd saved her, and the boy whom she'd saved. She reached for the purple hair tie that lay in the pocket of her long, loose pants and gazed lovingly at it.

"I haven't forgotten..."

Her voice trailed off in the wind as a familiar scene that she'd recalled too many times unfolded before her very eyes.

"_Will we meet again sometime?" _

"_Sure we will." _

"_Promise?" _

"_Promise. Now go, and don't look back," he let go of her hand, watching as the now matured girl left. _

She could still remember the earnest look in his eyes, coupled with a very small sad glint that remained in those pools of green. They had probably been reflected in her brown eyes as well. "You promised…" Chihiro's voice was close to cracking as tears filled her eyes, making her vision blur.

"You promised, Haku… But now, I'm just not sure if I can wait any longer…"

"I promised, so here I am." Chihiro looked up, startled at the appearance of a deep male voice beside her. Her eyes turned sharply to see a mature man standing before her, dressed smartly and casually in a pair of long black pants and a navy blue tunic held together with a brown, leather belt. The wind played with his sea green hair that had been cut to fit his casual look. Now, it was messy and short, and with the hair covering the sides of his face gone, his beautiful, captivating features stood out all the more.

His eyes sparkled as they stared at each other wordlessly. A mixture of feelings stirred up within Chihiro, overwhelming feelings of sadness, relief, frustration and happiness flooded her. The tears were pushed out of her eyes and one by one, they fell to her lap as she let herself be enchanted once again by those same green emerald orbs that she had met with years ago. "You…" she squeaked a little too off-key.

He shushed her gently by welcoming her with a warm embrace. Her head fit perfectly in the crook of his neck as her tears spilled freely. The man rocked her gently and whispered sweet-nothings to her, things that she'd longed to hear for too many years. His hand went past the woolen hat on her head to the small of her back, pressing her closer to him as she sobbed into his clothes. "Haku!" she repeated, more for herself rather than him, for she could not find it in her to believe it.

"Yes, Chihiro. I'm here now."

"You promised, Haku. You came!" she smiled, sniffling, face still buried in his chest.

"Yes, my love. I've missed you dearly," he replied sadly.

She continued to nuzzle her cheek against the soft fabric of his clothes, but moments later, without realizing, she found herself falling. Losing her balance, she tumbled to the ground and landed on her side painfully. Her waist had precisely hit the edge of a rock, making her cry out sharply in pain. She was pretty certain it would leave a very ugly bruise. Haku gasped and her eyes shot up to him, making her momentarily forget about the pain as she gaped at the scene. The man was floating away towards the unreachable horizon, his lower body turning into fragments of scales blown and scattered away by the unrelenting breeze. His longing gaze broke her heart into a million pieces.

Chihiro tried to muster her strength, but she couldn't. She was too weak. She could only helplessly watch her beloved dragon disappear and her hand reached gingerly out for him, final tears leaving her desperate eyes. "No!" she whispered.

The alarmed cry of nurses and shuffling of feet was the last thing she heard that brought her back to reality, seeing only air in Haku's wake before plunging into darkness.

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A/N: Yay you got past the first chapter! Congratulations! Hahaha leave a review please? It might have been a little boring since it was a lot of reminiscing, but it's part of the plot. Was it too boring? I would love to hear your opinions on this! (: Till the next chapter~


	2. Returning

The Wait: Returning

"_You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes." _

_-A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh_

A gray-haired woman burst into the corridor and hurried towards the nurse that had just exited the room. With much anxiousness, she approached her. "Sakino-san, I was informed Chihiro was found unconscious and that she's having another high fever. How is she doing?" The woman's voice was shaky and her knees were buckling. Her weak legs could barely support her anymore; not under the stressful condition she was in.

"Chihiro-chan? The doctor's doing a check-up on her so it may take some time since she needs to be given some IV drops. Her temperature rose drastically, most possibly from dehydration."

The senior woman rubbed her clammy hands against her dull skirt and pressed her index fingers to her temples. She had begun to feel dizzy. "Ogino-san, are you alright? Please take a seat. I'll get a cup of tea for you." The kind nurse helped her to sit down and she sighed as her head leaned against the wall, shutting her eyes to get some rest. "Just wait here, I'll be right back, alright?"

Her footsteps sounded through the near empty hall, getting softer and softer as she left. Yuko slumped against the chair in a messy heap, grabbing the handkerchief from her pocket to dab at the beads of perspiration that lined her forehead and upper lip. "Chihiro's going to be fine. You're thinking too much, Yuko. Just breathe. You can do this. Breathe," she muttered to herself. She had to keep her cool, if not for her then for the sake of Chihiro who was in there.

That daughter of hers was certainly going to get it from her if the fever was really from dehydration. After all, she'd been nagging every day over the phone to get her to drink more water and to stay in bed. And she'd been reminding Chihiro to stay in bed instead of going out in her condition. Really, she just wouldn't listen sometimes. And see what it'd lead to?

"Oh, I hope she's alright…" Yuko murmured uneasily. Slowly, her head cleared and she began to feel better. "Here's your green tea, Ogino-san," Sakino appeared by her side, handing her the warm plastic cup.

"My, thank you, Sakino-san," she breathed as she carefully took a sip from the cup, feeling the tea warm her insides comfortably.

"You're very welcome, Ogino-san. I'm always here to help, so no need for such formalities."

"But still, I can't thank you enough. You've been around to help us out since Chihiro got admitted last year."

"Well, she is a wonderful person and friend, if you know what I mean. A good listening ear, patient, kind and exceptionally mature and bright woman she is. It's only natural that people start to flock towards her, especially with her positive determination. It gives everyone else hope. She's been such a good influence on the others. The children adore and look up to her, the adults marvel and respect her; we all want to do whatever we can to help her."

Yuko wiped a shed tear from her eye. She was sincerely touched by the compassion of the other patients at the hospital. "Thank you, Sakino-san… I, as a mother, can't even do anything to help her…"

"Oh no, Ogino-san, you're terribly wrong! You've been such a great encouragement to Chihiro-chan! She always tells me how both of you are so close to each other and she loves and respects you greatly as a significant figure in her life. She always tells the rest how you're the one who changed her to be who she is today," Sakino exclaimed, smiling and placing a comforting hand on the shoulder of the senior woman in front of her.

"Don't worry too much, Ogino-san. She'll be fine. Good things always happen to the good people. I believe in karma very much, don't you?"

Yuko nodded, now feeling much more encouraged. "Yes, yes, Sakino-san. She'll be fine, won't she? She's strong, after all."

"Yes, she is," Sakino agreed entirely.

Yuko's hands clasped themselves around the cup, letting the heat warm her wrinkled hands. Quietness filled the surroundings as the two women sat in silence, awaiting the doctor to be done. Yuko couldn't help but think back to her beloved husband, Akio. Both she and Chihiro had grieved and mourned for a long time, and time seemed to have helped heal that gaping wound in their hearts, but she knew both of them still missed him dearly. His endearing smile, his comforting hugs that would come whenever he got back from work, his passion for both his work and family. He was such an amazing person, yet…

A tissue in Sakino's hand appeared in Yuko's line of vision and she looked up at Sakino in tiny surprise. The sad smile on Sakino's face told her she'd been crying again. Slightly embarrassed, she gratefully accepted the tissue and dried her tears, sniffling. "I'm sorry, I just… whenever I think about Chihiro like this, I can't help but think about Akio, and…"

"It's alright, Yuko-san. It's alright," she said, placing her arm around the mother as an act of assurance, one that she truly needed. It was indeed difficult to have to face such pain, one after another. She'd already lost her husband; if she lost her daughter as well, Sakino had no idea how Yuko was going to handle the grief. Sure, she would definitely take care of Yuko on Chihiro's behalf- Wait, what was she thinking? Chihiro was definitely going to be fine! She just had to be. She was going to be.

Sakino nodded strongly to herself in fierce determination of having that positive mindset she'd adopted for the sake of her many patients whom she was glad to say had become her friends.

The door clicked open and they snapped out of their thoughts. Yuko scrambled to her feet while being helped by Sakino toward the doctor and the nurse who was accompanying him out of the room.

"Doctor, how is my daughter? Is she alright?" Yuko's lip quivered with anxiety as her pleading eyes locked with the relieved ones of the doctor. "Yuko-san, Chihiro's fine. Don't worry. She's just dehydrated and needs to rest more in her bed for now. She's still unconscious, but she should be coming around soon. Feel free to go in and see her. Take care now." The professional figure nodded with a charming smile on his face.

"Thank you so much!" A warm smile lifted Yuko's features and after bowing her thanks, she rushed into the room to see Chihiro lying on the bed in sleep, a scene she'd witnessed many times now. The girl's face was pale and so were her dry lips. Yuko took a seat next to the bed, followed by Sakino who stood by with a hand on her shoulder. "See, I told you she'd be fine."

Yuko sighed, feeling a burden off her chest. "Yes, yes, thank you, Sakino. I don't know what I would do without you."

A smile graced Sakino's lips as she quietly watched the mother stroke her daughter's head tenderly, watching as the moisture once again formed in the tired eyes of hers. After a good few minutes, Yuko stood up. "I'd better get back to work. Sakino-san, won't you help me look after Chihiro?"

"But you look so fatigued, Yuko-san. Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

The lady shook her head. "I can't afford to do that. I still have Chihiro's medical bills to pay for, and I'm feeling quite well, so I'll head off first. Thank you for your help Sakino-san. I truly appreciate it."

Knowing there was no changing her mind, Sakino waved the lady goodbye and took her seat next to the bed, looking at Chihiro with longing eyes. "You have such a good mother, you know that? Keep fighting, I believe you can do it!"

* * *

"Haku…" the girl stirred, mumbling incoherently in her sleep. "Haku…" the image of that strikingly handsome man resurfaced in her mind once again. "You… promised…" tears leaked out of her closed eyes and slowly, she regained consciousness just when he disappeared into the horizon in her dreams.

Chihiro's eyes scanned the familiar room and then she realized she was back in the hospital room. "That was all a dream..?" she wondered and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

The door opened and in stepped a friend. "You're awake!"

Chihiro sat up with a considerable amount of difficulty, seeing that her much of her energy had been drained from her body. Sakino rushed over and assisted her before pouring her a glass of water, filling it nearly to the brim. "You, missy, are in a lot of trouble. We've been telling you to keep yourself hydrated, haven't we?"

Chihiro rolled her eyes but a smile tugged at her lips. "Incessantly, yes."

Sakino frowned. "This isn't the time for jokes, Chihiro. Your mother was so worried about you!" She handed the glass to Chihiro who took it with both hands for fear that a single hand of hers would have inadequate strength to lift the object.

"I'm sorry, I was careless. I just didn't feel thirsty…" Chihiro muttered as she raised the glass to her lips, letting her dry mouth take in the wet liquid.

"Geez, what am I supposed to do with you? You're such a stubborn mule, Chihiro," Sakino chided.

She chuckled and handed the half-empty glass to Sakino, hoping in her mind to get away with it, but clearly failed when Sakino raised her brows. Grumbling internally, she gulped the rest of it down, nearly choking on the water in the process.

"Happy?" she asked, tipping the glass upside down.

"Very." Sakino smugly took it and set it on the table beside the bed. "Now, want to tell me what you were doing outside on the bench?"

Chihiro scratched her head trying to remember what exactly she was trying to do. She had just wanted to get some fresh air instead of being cooped up in the room the whole day, but that had just turned out to be a reminiscing disaster. Remembering the two men she loved most in her lifetime was tough, especially since the time spent with them didn't manage to last. She'd felt alone for a long time and the empty void in her heart longed for something. Chihiro couldn't be sure, but it was probably only he who could make her heart feel whole again.

"Well then, I need to get back to work. Rest well, okay?" Sakino got up to leave and Chihiro, with a small smile, bid her friend goodbye.

She sighed miserably to herself, staring out the window like she'd done so numerous times, since the hospital room was almost like her home, seeing that she'd been living there for a very long time already. The girl longed to go back home, but back to which home exactly, she wasn't certain of that herself. She wanted to return to that world again, but given her current condition, she didn't think she'd be capable of working at the bathhouse just to visit her friends for possibly the last time before she left for good.

"If you're not going to keep that promise, then I guess it's going to be up to me to keep it for you," she muttered.

* * *

After getting an early night's rest, Chihiro's alarm went off at 3am sharp. Waking up in an instant, she grabbed her purse she'd kept in the drawers beside her bed and her head peeked out the door to check the hallways. It was empty, to her delight.

She slipped on the thin hospital slippers and stepped into the hallways, feeling the cold marble floor with her soles. The fear and nervousness of being caught brought adrenaline pumping in her veins and spine-tingling chills as goose bumps appeared on the skin of the forearms of hers.

'_You've got this, Chihiro!' _she shouted in her head, proceeding to sneak down the dark hallways. Her room was on the fifth floor, and since the elevator was not in use then, she was forced to take the stairs.

It was a pain in the ass to climb down the steps. For one, she wasn't exactly up for any athletic exercises of the sort, wanting to save the limited energy she had for later. For two, it was pitch dark so she was alone and as good as blind. The girl groped about for the railings and used them as her guide to descend the dangerous steps with caution.

'_Slow and steady wins the race, Chihiro…' _

One by one, she counted the steps as she got closer and closer to the ground floor, nearing her destination. It was going to be a long night, she knew.

It went rather well for a while, until Chihiro let out a startled gasp when she tripped and stumbled on a step, falling to the ground clumsily. Her head slammed itself on the cement floor and a migraine kicked up, making her moan. She got up, rubbing her sore waist that had unfortunately made contact with the ground too, and her fingers felt for the railings again. Gritting her teeth and resisting the pain, she continued making her way down.

A thousand steps later, she finally made it and a glimmer of hope rose in her upon seeing the slit of light through the slightly ajar door of the ground floor. Thoroughly thrilled, she peeped out to see nothing and no one. She slipped through the door swiftly and out the entrance, but upon stepping out into the chilly night, she spotted two security guards patrolling the hospital grounds.

Chihiro cussed under her breath and hurried over to a pillar where she hid behind, praying that she wouldn't be seen. She imagined the invisible cloak from Harry Potter draped around her body. "You can't see me…" she mumbled to herself, covering her eyes. Her ears concentrated on the sounds of the sticky sounds made by their boots stepping on grass and mixing with the brown soil. A few prayers and more cussing later, the sounds of footsteps finally disappeared and Chihiro let go of the breath she'd been holding subconsciously.

After ensuring there was no one else in sight, her eyes set themselves upon the glorious entrance and she took a deep breath. "I… 2… 3!"

The girl took off sprinting as hard as she could, making sure to keep her noise level to the minimum since the sound of crisp grass wasn't being helpful. Once out the entrance, she made a sharp turn to the right, keeping to the path and continued for a distance, though her stamina rapidly fell. She kept pushing though, wanting to ensure she was a safe distance away before stopping. Because she knew, once she stopped, she wouldn't be able to start again.

A painful minute later, Chihiro's exhausted legs came to a halt. She wheezed and bent over, hands on her knees. She was feeling dizzy and thanks to that, nearly lost her balance. It was late at night, so it would probably take a while before a cab would come. Deciding to wait by the road for some time, the chilly night wind cooled her down as sweat trickled down her neck.

"I'm coming, Haku. Just you wait when I get there…" Chihiro muttered, the back of her hand wiping the perspiration from her forehead.

* * *

A/N: Well, I don't know what things Chihiro can have in the hospital room or how it's like at night on hospital grounds since I've never been there before, so if there's any mistake, please forgive me! This chapter may have been kind of dry, but I promise it'll get better the next chapter! Honest! :D

Many thanks to **ialiceiamagodness, Scarlet Ammo 19, michelle88222, WhiteTiger246, VeryBerry96, EasternWindDragon, FruitySmell, Guest and NachoPenguin **for your reviews!

Believe me, I was really touched by your support and I kinda cried on the inside haha. (I'm not much of a crybaby for an odd reason…)

Like the quote thing? I was doing research for my expository essay while in class on my phone (permitted by the teacher haha) and then my friend showed me the quotes by this dude! They're so freakin' sweet and some of them happened to fit in with this story so I decided to add them in haha :D

**Next up: **Chihiro manages to get back into the Spirit World, but there's just one problem: Her friends don't recognize her.

Mattane!~


	3. Back Home

The Wait: Back Home

"_Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would, I'd never leave."_

_-A.A. Milne_

A woman with extensive long strands of brown hair crawled through a passage with a basket in hand. The moment the passage door opened, she felt the immense heat attack her skin and just like every other day, her resulting perspiration would be absorbed by her pink uniform, making it all the more uncomfortable and unbearable. Oh, what she would do for a bath. With her bangs matted to her forehead, she stood up, wiping the sweat away with the back of her hand.

"Dinner's here, Kamaji!" she announced as her hand reached into the basket to pull out a huge bowl of ramen.

"About time! I'm starving here!" the grumpy old man replied.

She scowled at him. "Some stupid yuna was the one holding me up, alright! Geez…"

He chuckled as he stopped working and dug into the meal. "Dinner time!" he yelled to the working soot balls which then dropped all their coals, rushing over to Lin for their favorite, and truthfully, their only choice of food.

"Do I want to know what happened?" the old man asked while chewing his noodles and slurping on the soup eagerly. "Tastes better every time," he remarked to himself.

Lin threw out star-shaped crackers to the soot balls while her face held the same scowl in place, though it seemed to have grown bigger as she fumed thinking back.

"Thanks to her, the bottom floor is a wreck. Customers are going crazy and she's actually feigning illness as a poor excuse to slack! The next time I get a hold of her job schedule, she's going to be in charge of clearing the dump out back."

The soot balls seemed to whimper when their beloved crackers broke into a million crumbs in Lin's tightly balled fists. The woman sighed as her hand delved into the basket to get more and threw it into the eagerly awaiting stick-like hands of the little creatures.

"Ahh… this place just gets hotter and hotter, doesn't it?" the weasel spirit grumbled in frustration.

"It's not getting hotter; you're just getting angrier, Lin. Cool down a little," Kamaji replied calmly before taking in another mouth of the noodles.

She rolled her eyes. "Tell me when you're done with that. I gotta head back soon to help clear up the mess. If you saw it those sunglasses of yours would fall right off and you'd be as angry as me…" Lin continued in angst.

"I don't think I would be, Lin. Could it be any worse than the mess Chihiro made the last time she was here?" Kamaji said, smiling at the wonderful memories of the past.

A sad smile appeared on Lin's face, making the wrinkles that had initially appeared on her forehead vanish.

"I guess not… That girl was really…" her voice trailed off as she paused to remember the endearing human whom she'd long regarded as her own little sister, a sibling whom she'd longed to have for the last few centuries in her lifetime. How was she doing? Was her life good? Did she still remember them? Was she ever coming back? Were they ever going to meet again?

The questions swarmed and bombarded her mind like they always did whenever she recalled the baby-faced human girl who was much stronger than her wimpy outer appearance was. A force to be reckoned with, she was.

The woman sighed and opened the passage door to leave, knowing the call of her duty awaited her. "I miss her too, Lin," Kamaji voiced out, "we'll meet her again, I'm sure."

The corners of her lips turned up into a tiny smile. "I sure hope so."

"Well then, time to get back to work. Come on now, we've got a lot to do! Get your lazy butts moving!" Kamaji shouted and the soot balls immediately scrambled back to their respective holes while some others retrieved their pieces of coal, returning to the momentum of their jobs.

'_Speaking about that, I wonder, where is he now? He hasn't come back for a while already,'_ Kamaji thought absentmindedly to himself.

* * *

The woman's heartbeat accelerated while her eyes tried to catch up with dense trees that swooshed quickly past. She sunk back in the leather seat, vainly attempting to calm herself down. The mere thought of returning back to the Spirit World made her bubble over with excitement on the inside. She was this close to hyperventilating.

She looked out the window, spotting her little blue home with ease. _'Home…'_ the word spoke to her with such warmth, and bittersweet memories tugged on her heart. She missed home dearly.

The cab drove past and the houses atop the hill were hidden from view by the dense greenery that now surrounded the narrow path. With tremendous anticipation, Chihiro looked out, hoping to catch a sight of the peculiar statues that had scared her before since they practically resembled morbid-looking marionettes to her, but when she tried to get closer to the window, her forehead smashed against the glass a little too hard when the cab began to bump up and down unsteadily on the uneven ground.

"Ouch…" she whined, rubbing her sore head. It was giving her a headache.

"You alright back there? I'm sorry, I didn't notice the ground!" the taxi driver called, concerned.

"I'm fine! Thank you for your concern!" she smiled, feeling all warm on the inside, touched by the man's kindness. He'd been a real gentleman when he saw that she wasn't very well and had even asked if she was feeling alright when he stopped the cab to pick her up. She'd nodded in subtle indication that she was perfectly fine, but the man went out of his way to make sure she was comfortable in the taxi.

"I have a daughter who's just like you," he'd simply explained in justification of his actions when she'd ever politely inquired.

"Are you sure it's safe for you to be alone out here? Where does your uncle live anyway? I've never been to this part of town before but I don't think it's safe for a young girl like you to be here. It's late at night and what's more, you aren't in the pink of health from what I can see…" the taxi driver prodded again amidst the sound of rocks or some things rocking the car about.

"Yeah, my uncle stays around here and he promised to show me the stars tonight, that's why I'm here so late. Don't worry for my safety please, I'll be just fine. And I'll head back to the hospital as soon as possible," she replied, though guilt gnawed at her for lying to such a caring man.

"Would you like for me to wait for you and then send you back?" he suggested, a warm smile brightening his face as he glanced at her through the rear view mirror.

Surprised by his generosity, she felt some moisture begin to gather in her eyes, genuinely touched by his sincerity. "Thank you very much for the offer, but my uncle will send me back to the hospital. I really appreciate your kindness."

"You're very welcome," he beamed before resuming his work.

"You remind me of my father…" she whispered by mistake, but thankfully the driver didn't hear. Or at least he looked like he didn't hear anything. Images of the warmhearted man flashed by in her mind like a shutter of a camera that wouldn't stop, scenes of them hugging, of him smiling and laughing, of his serious face in work, his sad expressions, everything. A deep sense of longing stirring in her gut made Chihiro feel like crying again like she'd done so many times already.

But she suppressed the urge. She couldn't be sad now. Her father would never want her to feel sad because of him. Furthermore, she was going back to the Spirit World soon, and she didn't exactly want her friends to see her puffy, red eyes and Rudolf nose; not the kind of reunion she had in mind.

And so her mind went back into its fantasies. How was Haku doing? Had he cut his hair, like in her most recent hallucination—that she wished was real—or did he have it long? Had he grown taller? Was he still the same boy 10 years ago? Did he still remember her? The questions bombarded her mind but she shrugged the imminent anger, frustration and sadness off. Those questions would just have to wait till she saw him again. Nothing would dampen her mood now.

Chihiro continued to reminisce about her friends in the spirit world with a tiny smile on her face that had slipped on subconsciously, until the cab came to an abrupt stop. "Alright, I can't go any further. Is this the place?"

Chihiro peered out the window. A thick mess of dead leaves decorated the front of the tunnel that was lying in the pitch black, eerie jungle surrounding the rocky path.

"Yes, thank you!" she beamed her hand reaching for her purse, but was stopped by a shake of his hand.

"Don't worry about it. It's hard enough…" There was a small hint of a crack in his voice as his eyes looked out the window.

She tried to decline his offer, but the stubborn man wouldn't budge an inch. Chihiro could only sigh in defeat and opened the door to leave.

"Thank you for the ride, sir. Have a good rest."

She closed the door and walked towards the tunnel. Its faded red paint and peeled, ancient walls looked even older and dirtier than ever. It wasn't that surprising though; after all, that was years and decades and even possibly centuries old with no one who would even spare the tunnel a glance, let alone clean it. She waited till the cab sped away before taking a few more steps to stand before the peculiar statue that had scared her years back. "Looks like we meet again, huh."

The woman patted its head before taking one final look behind her and taking a deep breath, took her first step into the magical realm. "Here we go again, Chihiro," she muttered nervously.

Gentle winds began to blow in her direction, the fallen, dry leaves flying towards the tunnel. The wind seemed to be guiding her to the Spirit world again, just like the last time.

"I'll take that as a welcome…" she chuckled.

The tunnel was just as dark and long, seeming to never end. Its musty smell attacked her nostrils and she nearly gagged, wondering if there was a dead body around or something. Not that she wanted to know. Her hand instinctively reached out to the side for her mother's hand, but when she only felt the stuffy air on her fingers, fear and loneliness gripped her. Her brain was suddenly fully aware of the fact that there was no one to protect her, no one with her. The sound of her footsteps gradually picked up its rhythmic pulse. It was as if her nervous heart beats were echoing throughout the tunnel. Nonetheless, her eyes were fixated on the end of the tunnel, searching for the light waiting at the end of it.

Soon enough, relief filled her as a faint glow of light appeared from the end of the tunnel. Her brisk steps soon turned into a light jog, seeing that she couldn't run very fast after the earlier marathon she just ran. "I'm really back!" She felt like a typical little red riding hood as she almost started off in a series of skips and hops toward the ever brightening entrance.

Chihiro's feet stopped at the end of the tunnel, just a step away from the great plain that lay in front of her. The scenery looked just like a painting; she was baffled by its beauty that seemed to have blossomed over the years. The rising sun that hung on the horizon at the far-end of the sky was gorgeous to say the least. It made the girl's heart flutter, just like every other beautiful thing would make her feel. "This is amazing… I've never come here at dawn…" she murmured in awe.

The sweet smell of dew overpowered the previously musty odor she'd had to put up with in the stale, old tunnel and she sighed in contentment. If she was already this overjoyed before she'd even taken her real first step in the Spirit World, she wondered how she would look like at the sight of her old friends.

Perhaps, jumping, and then dizziness, fatigue, and finally, distress amongst everyone after she collapses again.

Her palm hit her cheek lightly. Nothing of the sort would happen. After all, she'd only escaped from the hospital a day after the doctor said she'd have to stay in bed for at least 3 days or if she did any overly strenuous exercises, she may collapse again.

'_This sounds really good,'_ she thought to herself with thick sarcasm in her mind.

Guilt washed over her suddenly as she recalled the hospital. "Mom…" Hopefully she wouldn't overreact by calling the cops to do a search there or a lot of people would be turning into pigs if not warned.

* * *

"She fainted from the shock. No worries, she'll be fine soon, but she'll have to rest more," the doctor said to Sakino who stood by, watching anxiously.

"Thank you," she bowed and the doctor nodded to her with a small smile on his face before leaving.

The letter in the nurse's hand crumpled with ugly wrinkles as her fingers clenched tight on the material. "Chihiro… What the hell are you thinking?"

Had something finally snapped in her? What was she doing, leaving the hospital like that? Thank goodness her mother was fine or she would never be able to live with it. Didn't she know how tough it was on her mother already? And then she just up and went off to some unknown place for the sake of some "friends" who were living there.

Really? It sounded more like they were at some hide-out doing some pretty illegal stuff. Sakino sighed and sat down in the chair beside the bed where Yuko was resting. She rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. Getting angry at Chihiro wasn't going to do anything. Right then their priority was to find her.

The woman hadn't even recovered! What would happen if she were to meet with some kind of accident out there or just collapse with no one to tend to her? Chihiro was rather notoriously infamous for always over exerting herself even after being told countless times not to do so. Sooner or later the doctors would rope her to her bed.

Sakino sighed again, this time more miserably. Yuko would never be able to live with the pain. None of them would. "Yuko, don't worry. We'll find her soon."

* * *

The smell of food wafted towards Chihiro's nostrils, and she would have been tempted if she didn't feel just like a pregnant woman who could not stand meat then. She just didn't have the appetite. Besides, eating the stuff would mean turning herself into a pig, and what could be worse than a human pig to spirits?

Oh, right. A _sick _one.

She walked on slowly, inclining her head every now and then to check out the quaint little houses that looked to be the same as before, or perhaps some of them had been renovated. Nothing could have changed much in 10 years over in the Spirit Realm anyway; a mere ten human years probably just felt like a month to them.

It was getting close to mid-afternoon, and somehow the Sun decided it was the perfect day to cook her with its hot body. Rays of light impinging on the eye shone torturously on her skin, the searing heat making it harder to breathe. Her tongue ran over her dry, cracked skin of her lips. She regretted not bringing a water bottle like a sensible adult would have done. She hadn't even recovered after the whole collapsing-from-dehydration thing and now here she was, putting up with her throat's whines about how thirsty it was.

"Great going, now the next thing you know, you'll collapse again."

Chihiro smiled ruefully to herself and continued on, going up the steps. "It's here, right?" she panted, still making her way up at a snail's pace. The girl was exhausted, as expected after aimlessly wandering for the entire morning. She counted the number of steps as she climbed up one after another. Silently encouraging herself till the last one, her irregular and ragged breaths filled her ears, but were soon drowned out by the sound of rushing waters.

The tall signpost towered over the petite frame of Chihiro, with the word "Abura" written elegantly on it. She stared at it and smiled after a while. "This is it. I'm really back," she breathed. Turning to her right, there lay the bridge leading up to the entrance of the bathhouse. The willowing black smoke making its way into the clean, fresh atmosphere caught her attention, and she smiled at the memory of Kamaji. "I wonder how he's doing…"

The bathhouse was just as grand and magnificent as ever, and its exterior looked the same as before. For a while, Chihiro simply stood there, not moving. Her mind was blank, as memories flooded her mind just as they used to, and then tears proceeded to brim in her eyes. It only struck her then how much she had truly missed everyone, and yes, she had even missed Yubaba.

Her feet took their first steps on the wooden planks of the bridge, and she could feel the heat from the overcooked wood. Perhaps it was boiling hot, maybe it was nice and warm, but her brain never got a chance to register that simple point when she tumbled to the ground, her head once again, not so gently landing on the hard surface directly.

Chihiro could only cry out and whimper at the pain as her weak, now trembling hand came to clutch her spinning head. The world looked like it was turning upside-down, as if on a mad rollercoaster ride. Her heart was beating too fast for her liking. As the darkness began to close in, the girl panicked and desperately tried to keep her eyes open, but then, they were too weak and she gradually lost strength, finally plunging into the deep abyss of blackness.

* * *

"… sick human!"

"Throw it in the dumpster!"

"She'll scare away the customers!"

"Why'd you bring her in? You should have thrown her off the bridge, imbecile!"

"What's all the commotion about?"

"It's a human! A sick one! Ew!"

"Oh my... Get her out! She's stinking up the place!"

Chihiro's ears picked up on the outraged, shocked voices around her and slowly as she regained her consciousness, more and more people chipped into the noise pollution that was hurting her ears and giving her a bigger headache. "Ow…" she moaned, stirring.

Some of the spirits who were staring with curiosity and disgust pointed at the human girl accusingly. "She's awake! Everyone!"

Most of the spirits hushed, turning away from their nosy conversations and gossips to look at the lowly creature who'd stumbled into their world.

As Chihiro's eyes opened, her initially blurred vision slowly focused and she looked around, eyes scanning for any familiarity in the area. She tried moving, but her limbs would not budge. It took a good few seconds for her to actually realize she'd been tied up with ropes. The coarse material was digging into her skin, making it hurt and itch simultaneously.

"Where… am I..?" She took in the crowd standing before her, people of diverse ranges of shapes and sizes standing a good distance away from her but still crowding around her in a circle, as if some force were repelling them from coming closer to examine the human girl. A few familiar faces stood out to Chihiro, and she recognized the frog spirit who had scared her the previous time while walking with Haku on the bridge. She also spotted a couple of familiar bathhouse workers along with some yunas whom she'd met with before.

"I'm really in the bathhouse..?" she murmured, eyes widening.

"She looks familiar, doesn't she?"

"Hey, you remember the last time one human girl came here?"

Chihiro grinned, relieved. They did remember her! So she wasn't the only one.

"Yeah, but then she left. Now it's a different one. What do we do now? Hey where's Lin?"

'_Lin?'_

"I'm here, I'm here, you big noisy bunch. Now what do you want? I was busy with the mountain spirit over there!" the woman's voice answered from behind, clearly ticked.

"Lin!" Chihiro cried rather softly. She squirmed to turn around to look at Lin, but it proved to be too overwhelming for her body when she almost passed out again from overexertion.

Lin made her way over to the other side of the human girl to get a good look, at the same time hushing everyone, leaving the room in thick, dreadful silence.

Chihiro's hopeful eyes stared at Lin's, willing for her to remember. However, Lin gave her a blank look, with nary a flicker of recognition in her eyes. And time would not render her more time to think, because Yubaba soon appeared, with workers parting like the Red Sea to make way for their boss.

"What do we do with her, Yubaba?"

Chihiro's heart sank when Yubaba gave her a pointed, disgusted glance and with a gesture of her hands, instructed, "Pesky humans. Throw her into the furnace. We have no need for a sick pig around here."

'_They really don't remember me..?' _Chihiro shook her head. That could not be happening. After all, she'd made such unforgettable memories with everyone, and they said themselves that they remembered her, the human girl who'd worked here for a period of time before. What in the world was going on?!

"Lin! It's me! Sen!" she called, but her voice was too soft and hoarse, evidently a result of a lack of water. A big and buff bathhouse worker dressed in a dark green tunic and white pants arrived by Chihiro's side, lifting her up with ease but grunting at the odor.

'_No!' _Chihiro all but screamed in her head.

* * *

A/N: I'm so sorry for MIA-ing for like, 3 weeks? I was busy with common tests/exams so I couldn't update. Of course, I still came back to write a little as a little break time for myself from time to time. XD But yeah I like this story so I couldn't help myself.

This chapter was much longer than usual, so I hope that makes up? I didn't actually intend for it to be this long haha. I don't know if the quote thing applied but I still like it heehee.

Thank you to you amazing people for reviewing: **VeryBerry96, ialiceiamagodness, EasternWindDragon, WhiteTiger246, michelle88222 and FruitySmell!**

Don't worry about the full explanation for Chihiro's condition; it shall come soon! (: But please tell me if there're any mistakes because I may be doing inadequate research on all this medical stuff and all! I'll update the thing if I manage to understand what you're saying. XD

Thanks again you great peeps and I'll see you soon? :D

Oh and one more thing: Leave a review for me please? ^^ I love getting reviews from you guys heehee and I'd love to get more opinions from you (:


	4. Reunion

The Wait: Reunion

Lin directed Kai, the newbie, to the newly constructed furnace that was located in the boiler room.

It was odd that Yubaba chose the furnace instead of the dumpster in her office. After all, that was the place she'd dump all those insolent workers and other spirits who'd foolishly decided to offend her. The furnace was actually meant for burning the waste food and other trash.

But then again, perhaps she just didn't want to stink up her office.

'_That works too,'_ Lin thought dryly.

Kai's brows were creased, and it was obvious to anyone that he was struggling very hard to put up with the smell he'd never encountered before. "Not too long now, newbie," Lin said, patting his shoulder awkwardly for some comfort which she hardly ever gave. There was definitely something about her and new employees.

Kai nodded and continued down at a slightly quicker pace, either because he was working harder or because he was close to dying from the intoxicating stench. Lin almost laughed, though she held it in since it wasn't exactly appropriate, seeing that the human who was being carried by him kept straining her neck painfully to maintain eye contact with her.

Lin merely stared back at her flatly. Was she that interesting to look at? Last she checked, she was not in the best state since she'd to work 3 days straight with no rest all thanks to that pretty-face bimbo who'd struck a nerve with at least 50 customers after she created such a pandemonium downstairs. She hadn't seen her for a while though. Thank goodness for that too. Yubaba probably threw her in the dumpster. The ghost of an evil smile crept up Lin's face. Call her evil, but that felt satisfying.

"Which way?" a constipated Kai asked, snapping Lin out of her pleasurable thoughts.

"Make a left turn and then go down the stairs."

Kai did as told and immediately swerved to his left, making the human girl groan in pain at the sudden jerk of her neck. Anyhow, she still insisted her way on staring Lin down with pleading eyes. Lin tried to look away. The human girl was already reminding her too much of her memories with Sen—or Chihiro—and her pitiful eyes were just making her go soft. But she couldn't; it was Yubaba's orders she had to follow.

"I'm sorry," she murmured at the human girl who was still desperately looking at her for dear life.

Kai opened the door at the side of the bathhouse. It was night and so they were hidden extra well from customers' sights. If the girl didn't stink so badly, their cover plan would have been perfect. The hustle and bustle of that night was crazy; business had been booming and was going very well, much to Yubaba's delight, with the extra gold she earned. But, somehow after Chihiro left, something changed in the old witch. It was not very explicitly shown, but there was still that tweak in her personality.

Yubaba now gave workers year-end bonuses because of the flourishing bathhouse business, and she even provided a month's worth of leave in the entire year for the workers, and using up their leave was entirely up to them, but not too workers could take leave at the same time or business would crumble. Now _that_ was a miracle in itself. Yubaba never ever gave her employees a day to rest before, and now workers seemed much happier to work for her.

'_The old witch finally learnt about karma,'_ Lin smiled. Not that she was mocking Yubaba; no one was. However, for the most part, Yubaba was still the same old strict, profit-driven witch who had high standards for the bathhouse. She'd merely started treating her employees with more respect.

A startled shriek jerked Lin out of her thoughts again and she stared at Kai who'd broken a plank while walking down the stairs and watching fearfully as the wooden thing took a long vertical trip down to the icy depths of the waters below. "Be more careful, Kai. And don't scream. It's making my head hurt," the weasel spirit complained. She was trying hard not to be snappy because of her grumpiness.

"_You're always grumpy, Lin," _Kamaji's voice rang in her head.

"Oh shut it, old geezer," she grumbled to herself.

Kai turned back, evidently having heard what she just said and was confused. She waved him off quickly, "I was just talking to myself. Now hurry and get down or-" she cut herself off before she frightened him, "ah, never mind. You don't want to know. Just hurry."

Despite his buff appearance, the timid spirit hurried down the steps, but this time much more wary of the planks that were prone to breaking at any point. While walking, Lin caught Chihiro staring at her again, with those same pleading eyes. Since Kai was taking ages to get down the steps like a little slug, she found herself staring back at the human.

"What? I got something on my face?" she snapped at the girl.

The girl, if anything, snorted before shaking her head as vigorously as she could. "Then what?" Lin was getting ticked off. She really didn't need someone mocking her after staring at her for so long like it was important.

She began to mouth something, while some strange hoarse sounds came out of her throat. "I can't lip-read, you squirt. Just say what you want to. If it's about me letting you go, you can forget about it. Yubaba's the head witch here and I'm just carrying out orders."

As Lin continued to eye the girl, she sensed that there was something strangely familiar about her. Her brown orbs seemed to want to tell her something since she seemed to be mute at the moment. Her face softened and stepped closer, examining the human. "Say, you look familiar…"

Instantly, the girl's eyes widened and looked like they were going to bulge out of their sockets. She nodded actively, as if prompting Lin to remember something.

Lin racked her brains for any recollection, but the only human girl she knew was Chihiro. Unless…

The full impact of realization crashed into her head and for a moment, Lin thought she couldn't breathe.

When the searing heat began to attack her, she realized they'd already reached the boiler room and that was why it was suddenly harder to take in air in the suffocating space.

'_Don't tell me, you're really her..?'_ Lin wondered, forcing herself to inhale. It was kind of a lot to take in at the moment. She only snapped out of it when she saw Kai ready to throw the girl into the unforgiving flames of the furnace.

"Hold it right there, newbie!" Lin screeched and hastily dashed to his side. He looked at her questioningly and she quickly lied, "I, uh, just remembered I have something important for you to do. Hurry and get to the ground floor. And please rinse yourself before you drive the customers away with your stink, got it?"

Immediately, like a child who just earned his first lollipop ever, threw Chihiro into Lin's arms, leaving her no time to react to the sudden weight, even though it was nothing she couldn't handle. He crawled out via the little exit but had a little trouble squeezing his huge butt through. It looked rather comical and if Lin wasn't as flustered as she was at the moment with the girl in her hands, she would have laughed out loud.

"Now what's with all this commotion?" the old spider man asked from where he was. His eyes had never left to see what was going on, and he had assumed it was just Lin helping another new worker out, but then there was that strange odor coming from where the group had been which intrigued him. "Get me some water, Kamaji. Hurry!" Lin shrieked and hurriedly laid the tired, weak human girl on the ground as carefully as she could.

"Chihiro, you feeling alright?" she tapped on the girl's cheeks who nodded with a relieved smile on her face. She tried to sit up, but Lin just pushed her back down on the floor, wanting her to get more rest. Kamaji took one glance at the two and rubbed his sunglasses in utter disbelief. "I don't believe it. Is that..?"

"Yes it is! Now get me water! She's dying!" she cried, overreacting completely.

Without a moment's hesitation, Kamaji took out a plastic cup and poured some warm water into it from his kettle and stretched his long, elongated arm to hand it to Lin, careful not to spill.

The weasel spirit, on the other hand, in a moment of anxiety, nearly spilled its contents all over Chihiro. "Crap! Sorry about that! Sit up and drink! I better get you some food. Stay here!"

Chihiro got into a sitting position with the help of Kamaji's supporting arm behind her back and he watched as she gulped the entire glass down. Instantly the scorching heat in her throat was soothed and she felt better after coughing a few times.

A shocked Kamaji watched and observed the girl silently. Why hadn't he recognized her at first sight? She'd grown into a fine, young lady in 10 years, but there was something off about her, especially the smell her body was emitting. And from what Lin just said, she hadn't eaten anything yet. She should have started to disappear a long while ago already.

Chihiro turned to face her dear grandfather and smiled weakly, but she moaned when the world seemed to shift again. The old man lay her back down on the floor and gave her a blanket lie on. "Watch your head," he reminded. After shifting into a comfortable position, Chihiro closed her eyes tightly, seeming to be in a lot of pain. Lin ran back with a generous serving of buns. "Here, take a bite, Chihiro,"

The weasel spirit paused when she saw her sister's pale face. "Are you feeling alright? Do you need any medicine? You don't look so good. Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you earlier! You just looked so different and-"

"Lin, just let her eat first. She's already begun to disappear," Kamaji interrupted.

Chihiro felt a tingly sensation all over her body and not to her surprise, she found herself fading into the atmosphere. She gratefully accepted the bun and chomped down hungrily, seeing that she hadn't eaten the whole day. Though it was plain, it was sweet as her tongue savored the soft, fluffy bun.

"Careful now, don't choke," Lin patted her back, worried wrinkles appearing on her forehead. Kamaji poured another glass of water for the girl to wash down the solid foods and the three remained in quietness for a while, the spirits watching over their dear family closely.

"Thank you…" Chihiro said after a while. She'd finally recovered her voice, thankfully, but it was still rather husky. That could not be helped though. Served her right for not drinking enough.

"No problem, need anything else?" Lin inquired.

"No thank you, Lin."

"I'm sorry, Chihiro, I should have-"

"It wasn't your fault at all. I just happened to be mute thanks to my throat at the time and it's been 10 years since you last saw me; I naturally look different."

"Oh, Chihiro! I've missed you so much!" Lin cried, wrapping her arms around Chihiro who returned the embrace eagerly.

"I've missed you too, Lin! I was afraid I'd never see you again!" Chihiro cried, tears beginning to form. Both girls sniffled a little and when they pulled away, laughed.

"Geez, you're still the same crybaby as ever," Lin mocked, wiping a stray tear on her cheek.

"That coming from you…"

"Whatever, you little squirt! You're back! I can't believe it! Are you really here?"

"No, I'm just an illusion and you're hallucinating, Lin." Chihiro rolled her eyes and pinched Lin's cheeks.

"Ouch! That hurt!" Lin rubbed her cheeks while shooting a playful glare at the girl opposite her.

"Good, then you're not dreaming." Chihiro cheekily replied and winked.

"Well, I guess some people just forget about their grandfathers after some time…" the old spider spirit grumbled from behind. Chihiro whipped her head around and gave him a rueful smile.

"Sorry Kamaji, I really missed you too!" She then got on her feet, albeit a little wobbly, but she regained her support and made her way into the open arms of her dear grandfather.

"I missed you very much, Chihiro."

"Same here, Kamaji," she smiled, more tears forming before finally spilling over her cheeks.

"How have you been? I see you've really changed over the years."

"I, uh…" Chihiro paused awkwardly. Should she tell the truth, or keep it from them?

"Sorry, I have to go or Kai will go crazy with anxiety. He's such a scaredy-cat. Well then, I hate to leave, but I'll come back soon, okay? You're going to fill me in on everything, okay, lil' sis? That includes your boyfriends, your ex-boyfriends, your crushes-"

"Basically everything about my love life, right, Lin?" Chihiro cut her off and Lin gave her a seductive wink.

"You got that right, girl. So don't you think of running away or I'll pound you, ya hear?"

Chihiro saluted her sloppily and with a farewell wave, Lin crawled through the exit and she was gone.

"Glad that infernal source of noise is gone…" Kamaji muttered under his breath and called out to the soot balls who were watching the scene from a distance, "Hey, you! Get back to work!" he paused before adding, "You can greet Chihiro if you want." He muttered the last sentence softly though, making Chihiro chuckle. Kamaji was practically all bark and no bite. Sure, he could seem like an intimidating, cold and unfeeling old man at times, but inside, he was such a softie.

"So, want to fill in your grandpa on life events first? What was it you were trying to say to me just now?" Kamaji asked as he went back to his work. The soot balls made their way out of their holes, all carrying the heavy charcoal blocks with their thin arms that looked like they could break any moment. Some of them waved at Chihiro and she couldn't help but gush at their adorableness.

"I guess… everything so far is… alright..?" she tried, but didn't sound convincing.

"Are you sure about that? You don't look very good, Chihiro," Kamaji pointed out.

"I, ah, was just dehydrated," Chihiro lied. Guilt pricked her, but she wasn't exactly lying. She _was _dehydrated after all.

Kamaji, sensing there was something that she was not ready to share, decided to drop it. Perhaps it was something important that she didn't want to shock them with. In any case, he was sure she would come around sooner or later especially with that crazy weasel spirit she called her sister just waiting to attack her with questions.

"Alright, good to hear," he replied with a little smile.

"What about you, Kamaji?"

"Same old, same old. This old spider is still serving here faithfully, and I don't think you'll believe this, but Yubaba has actually begun to treat her workers with more respect."

Chihiro's eyes widened. Yubaba and respect for others? Now that was something new. "In what way?"

"Now we have year-end bonuses since the bathhouse business is flourishing by day and she even gives each employee a full month of leave per year!"

"What?!" Chihiro nearly shouted. She clamped her hand over her mouth sheepishly but her eyes still displayed shock and disbelief. "Am I in the right world? Kamaji, tell me I'm in the correct realm," she started melodramatically.

He chuckled at her antics. "It's all true, Chihiro."

"Wow, I didn't realize Yubaba had it in her. That's quite the miracle, no offence."

"You're not the only one who feels that way, dear," he replied.

"Hmm…" she hummed, "can I ask something… else..?"

"You mean to ask about Haku, don't you?"

Chihiro flushed slightly. "How did you know?"

"You sounded shier and more hesitant. Ah, young love."

Chihiro blushed even harder. "It's not… love. So how is he?"

Kamaji shook his head smiling. The two were staying put in their own shells, still unwilling to admit their love for each other. "He's doing fine. Now he's a free man. He does whatever he wants."

The girl's interest was now piqued and she rested her chin on her now propped knees. "What does he do? Where does he stay, now that his river is gone, Kamaji?"

"Well, you know dragons; they like to keep their privacies, so I'm not sure where he stays. I just know for one that he has opened up a place for lost, homeless spirits to take refuge in. He protects them and he's like their guardian. He cares for them and he also provides for them. And after you left, he trained to get stronger, and as a result, now he's part of the Shugorei, the group of guardians over-seeing the well-being of the Spirit Realm. He helps to keep the place safe."

"Wow… That's… impressive, to say the least." Chihiro felt like she'd just taken a new step in knowing Haku. The selfless person who'd risked his life to save her, and the man who'd stolen her heart. She felt very proud of Haku, and was amazed at what he'd achieved ever since they parted.

With so much going on in his life, did he still remember her? Did he even have the faintest recollection or impression of her?

"Kamaji… does he still remember me?" she heard herself ask in a mild voice.

He looked up, bothered by the sudden swing in her mood. Haku had never gone back for her. That much he knew, so it was natural for her to be upset. It just never occurred to him that it would break his heart to see his granddaughter hurting this badly.

"I'm sure he does, Chihiro. Nothing escapes him, that sharp-minded dragon. Don't fret too much. I think he should be coming soon for a visit."

Her head jerked up. "He visits?"

"Of course he does, Chihiro. He's not a cold-hearted, unsentimental man. He visits once in a fortnight, but sometimes it gets delayed if he's too busy."

"So how long exactly is 'soon'?"

Kamaji grinned. If only she could see how in love she was with that dragon. "Probably in 2 days or so."

Chihiro nodded. In 2 days, she would be seeing Haku again. It was nerve-racking to even think about how she'd go about talking to him again. It could be rather awkward, seeing they hadn't met in 10 years. She wasn't even sure if he remembered her, and she dreaded that thought. If he didn't remember her, then well, her trip would have been wasted. Not entirely wasted, since she got to meet up with Kamaji and Lin again, but for the most part, she'd come to see Haku again, hopefully for the last time too.

"Chihiro, do you plan to get a job here?"

Chihiro snapped out of her thoughts. "Huh?"

"None of us would dare call Yubaba kind as of yet, Chihiro. While you're out of a job here in the bathhouse, she has the power to hurt you, and I'm not sure whether she still holds a grudge after the whole No-Face incident the last time you were here."

The girl gulped. She couldn't work; not in the physical condition she was in. If the job got a little too vigorous, she was sure to collapse and would probably end up in a critical condition. And she was not planning on staying too long in the bathhouse either; perhaps she could go with Haku?

If he didn't remember her, then she'd simply bid her farewells to everyone and return to the human world prematurely.

That sounded like a plan.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the delayed update! I was at camp the whole week so I started work here (: Had some trouble figuring out what to do for the plot but I guess it's alright now ;) Anyhow, I'm definitely eggcited for Haku's and Chihiro's reunion which should be coming up soon! For now, just bear with the sweet fun friendly stuffs yeah. ^^

Thank you to you great reviewees (this sounds cute haha) **EasternWindDragon, Yoko and Angelic Toaster!**

Aww I'm really glad that so far this story is still decent enough XD Thanks so much for your support! I'd really love to hear more from you guys through reviews though! They always make my day! (:

**Next up:** Lin and Chihiro spend some girl-to-girl bonding time together. Will Chihiro muster the courage to tell her friends her true condition?

Yoko: LOL thanks! You're too sweet haha thank eeeuuuu~


	5. Friends and Sorrows Shared

The Wait: Friends and Sorrows Shared

"_We'll be Friends Forever, won't we, Pooh?' asked Piglet._

_Even longer,' Pooh answered."_

_-A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh_

For the rest of the night, Chihiro simply stared at the soot balls working while she lay down on the blanket that Kamaji had lent her. It was nice and soft, and her body did need some down time after an eventful day. One by one, they would carry the super heavy pieces of coal with their super-spirit strength then make their way to the burning furnace to hurl them in.

They were especially cute when they made a special trip to the side of Chihiro's face just to give her a wave sneakily without Kamaji's noticing. "Good job, little guys. Keep going!" she whispered to them. They jumped up and down excitedly in response.

"I saw that, you. Stop slackening!" Kamaji grunted disapprovingly at his tiny workers' actions.

In a moment of shock, they seemed to lose their arm strength, resulting in them getting squashed by the pieces of coal that fell on their little bodies. "Oh great…" Kamaji muttered.

"Aww, they're so cute!" Chihiro gushed.

"You're too easily amused, Chihiro," he replied, clearly not amused in any way. He was busy at work, hands working hard at their individual jobs. It never ceased to amaze her how he could do so many things at once. Multi-tasking wasn't something many people could do and they only had 2 arms.

"When's Lin's shift over?" Chihiro asked idly. Her arm was placed over her eyes since the lights couldn't be switched off.

"About time. She should be coming up any minute now. You better get some sleep before she arrives or you'll be as dead as a roasted newt on a stick."

"That's a… very interesting analogy, Kamaji…" Chihiro shuddered at the mental image she had in her head. Suddenly she felt sick; she wasn't very good with anything slimy. Granted, there wouldn't be much slime on a newt, but it was just gross thinking about it roasted on a stick ready to be served on a platter.

"… …stupid Chichiyaku… I'll kill that no-good, annoying ass!" Lin huffed through the opening as she crawled through. In her anger however, she accidentally hit her head on the top of the short opening. "Ouch!" she complained, rubbing her forehead and scowling at the culprit for good measure.

Sitting up, Chihiro couldn't suppress the giggles that bubbled up in her chest any longer and burst out laughing. Lin glared at her and closed the opening before taking a seat next to the happy girl.

"It's ain't funny, kid."

"Sure it wasn't, Lin," Chihiro winked. It was so fun to tease her.

"Whatever, you little imp," the weasel spirit rolled her eyes. "Hey Kamaji," she greeted before she could forget. The boiler man grunted in acknowledgement.

Chihiro sidled up to Lin and nudged her playfully. Lin couldn't help but smile; it was too difficult to keep up the angry act in front of her little sister.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, much better. Thanks a lot," Chihiro beamed. Lin smiled warmly in response.

"So, fill me in on everything now. How many hunks did you hook up with?" she seemed to brighten up quickly, clearly very excited to find out how Chihiro's love life had been in the last decade.

"Well, I didn't 'hook up' with anyone, Lin." Chihiro frowned at the usage of that term.

Her eyes widened considerably. "Weren't the guys all falling head over heels for you? Look at you! You're a mega-hottie!"

A sweet blush crept up Chihiro's cheeks and she shied away from her sister. "I'm not, Lin."

"You are, too."

"No, I'm not."

"Stop living in self-denial or I'll slap the sense out of ya!"

Chihiro laughed. "You wouldn't slap me. You couldn't bear it."

"Don't count on it, squirt." Lin narrowed her eyes at her teasingly.

"So, have you been in any relationships, Lin?"

The weasel spirit snorted, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "You know how the spirits here are; all the men are all sissies who can't handle things on their own. I'd much rather count on myself."

Surprised and amused by Lin's outburst, Chihiro couldn't help but giggle. "Ouch, Lin. I wonder how many of them actually like you, though. What about the customers?"

"Hmm… some days the customers that come in here are pretty good-looking, I guess."

"Oh, come on, Lin. Give them some credit!" she cried.

"Please, they're not my type in any way," Lin deadpanned.

"Why not? You don't even know them! Come on, Lin. Open up your heart!" the girl said in a sing-song voice. Teasing her really was fun.

"Since when was this conversation about me, anyway? It was supposed to be about you!"

"It's more interesting to talk about you…" Chihiro was feeling reluctant to talk about her disastrous love life. After all, she hadn't ever landed herself in a relationship. She just couldn't bring herself to date another guy, since well, a certain dragon had taken her heart since long ago; she had just needed some time to realize it. Her friends would say she was beautiful and lucky to have so many guys wooing her, but she thought otherwise. It was painful to have to hurt someone else by rejecting their feelings.

"Heartbreak?"

Chihiro blinked. "What?"

"It's written all over your face, hon. I can tell. Is it Haku?" Lin teased, hoping to get a reaction.

As if on cue, a warm pink tinted her cheeks. She opened her mouth to deny Lin's claim but the weasel spirit beat her to it.

"Aha! I knew it! You've been in love with the dragon boy this whole time!"

"Lin! I'm not, okay?"

"Oh really? Then why are you blushing so hard if he doesn't mean anything to you?"

"I…" Chihiro stopped short, unable to come up with excuses. She was a horrible liar, anyway.

"…Is it that obvious..?" she asked meekly.

Lin rolled her eyes. "You're such a hopeless dope."

"Gee, thanks. I really appreciate the support," Chihiro shot back flatly, glowering at her.

"I was just kidding. Although, if you wanna be serious here, Haku's not too bad a choice. Every time he comes in the bathhouse the women start flocking to him."

Chihiro frowned at the mental image of women surrounding Haku like a king enjoying the company of thousands of concubines. It sparked off some sour feelings in her and she felt her spirits dip.

"Someone's jealous, I see," Lin sang, grinning at her little sister's green face.

"I'm not jealous!" she pouted, but held the same scowl in place.

"Oh yes you are. Don't worry, he never bothers with them; he's not a man-whore like the others."

Inside, she heaved a sigh of relief. But she was still annoyed at the fact that those women could actually be around Haku while she was deprived of the privilege.

"Man-whore? Really?" she raised her eyebrows.

"Don't get me started," Lin warned.

"Yes, please don't," an annoyed Kamaji interrupted. Lin scowled at him but he seemed to ignore it and went back to his work.

"Fine, I won't, grumpy old boiler man," she huffed.

"Thanks Kamaji!" Chihiro bowed, shooting a mischievous sideways glance at Lin who was shooting daggers at her.

They stayed in silence for a while, the conversation having come to an end temporarily. Lin was tired and she looked rather haggard. Her hair was a mess; uncombed strands were sticking out in odd places, and her clothes were all crumpled after a day's work.

She tried massaging her sore neck and moaned at the terrible aching. Chihiro then helped to massage the pressure points on Lin's back and neck, earning a lot of a satisfied groans. "Gosh, that feels good, Chihiro. Thanks a lot," Lin muttered.

Chihiro laughed at the other interpretation she had in mind. She had to get her mind out of the gutter. "You're welcome."

"I'm so tired… Are you going to sleep soon?" Lin asked, stifling a yawn.

Chihiro shook her head. "Probably, I'll wait for Kamaji."

"I'll wait with you, then. I think I'll sleep here tonight."

"What? Lin, I don't have extra blankets down here," Kamaji said. Lin rolled her eyes. "Do I look like I care? I'll just bring a blanket down here then!"

"Your actions will be too suspicious. People may get curious. And you know Chihiro must not be found at all costs."

The woman opened her mouth to retort, but seeing that she could not argue with the boiler man any further, merely folded her arms crossly and grumbled to herself. "Fine, then I'm staying up to talk."

"Oh, come on, Lin. I'm not leaving tomorrow; you can just talk to me tomorrow. You should get some sleep; you look very tired."

"Looks can be deceiving," Lin rebutted stubbornly.

"Lin, stop being a kid. Just go to bed."

"Who're you calling a kid, you brat?"

"I'm 20. You can't call me a brat," Chihiro stated flatly.

"Hmm… I guess so. But you'll always be a dope."

She rolled her eyes. That was probably something she'd have to live with.

"Oh hey, I've been meaning to ask you," Lin started.

"Yes?"

"What's with the woolen hat on your head? You cut your hair or something? It's really short."

Surprised by the question, it took Chihiro a second to register fully before answering, "Y-Yeah, I did…"

"Why'd you cut your hair? You strike me as someone who looks better in long hair."

"Well, I guess I just wanted a change?" Chihiro tried in her best convincing tone.

"Well, you should keep it long. I think you have nice hair," Lin commented.

She smiled a rueful smile. "Yeah, I think so too…"

"So why do you keep that woolen hat on anyway? Isn't it hot enough in here?"

"I guess it just looks cute?"

Lin looked unconvinced, however. "What's up with you? You don't look very well, Chihiro."

The girl gulped subconsciously and Lin noticed it. "I'm perfectly fine." Her hand subconsciously travelled to her head to touch the soft fabric that decorated her head.

"Really? You look kind of pale. And you're a little too thin. You on a diet?" Lin continued.

"No, I'm not on a diet, Lin," Chihiro scoffed at the thought of those silly girls who would starve themselves just to end up all bony and uglier than before. She paused to think of another reasonable excuse for her pale complexion. "…Maybe it's just the lighting here that makes me look paler."

"Really? You seem awfully unsure of yourself, bud. Don't lie to me, Chihiro. You can tell me anything," Lin coaxed. Her sister was hiding something, and she didn't like being kept in the dark about something, especially when it came to that dope.

"I'm not lying." Her right eyebrow twitched simultaneously.

"Oh yes you are, bud. Now spill. I know you're hiding something."

Chihiro looked away, trying hard to avoid Lin's hard gaze. She did not want to have that conversation. It was way too abrupt to jump to that topic. And it would just spoil everyone's moods.

"Come on, Chihiro. There's nothing you can't tell us," Lin added, sensing her reluctance.

By then, Kamaji had paused from his work to sneak a little break to listen to the girls' conversation. If it had something to do with his granddaughter, he wanted to know.

"I don't know… I really don't want to talk about it, Lin."

"Why not? We really care for you, Chihiro. Can't you see that?"

"I… Lin, this isn't something I can say so easily," Chihiro answered frankly.

"I can see that, but that's why I want to be there to help you."

"Same goes for your grandpa here, Chihiro," Kamaji added.

Her insides melted with overwhelming warmth. She didn't want to leave them; she wanted to just stay with her friends till she was a ripe old age, but that was difficult. Of course she had a chance of surviving, but then again, she didn't want to keep her hopes up.

People around her saw her as an optimistic person with a positive outlook on life and all, but it was easy to comfort others; people other than herself. Sure, it made her sound like a hypocrite, but she didn't want to keep her hopes up for fear of disappointment. She'd already been let down once by him, she didn't want a repeat on that, especially when she was afraid that once she closed her eyes, she wouldn't open them again.

Inhaling deeply, she placed her hand over Lin's. "I'll tell you guys, but you have to promise me to… just stay strong, okay?"

Both of them nodded grimly and even the soot balls had stopped working to listen to her. The only thing that sounded was the consistent crackling of the fire to fill in the silence.

"I… I have acute myelogenous leukemia..." she stuttered, swallowing the huge lump lodged in her throat.

"… Sorry, what's that?" Lin asked, confused. Everyone held their breaths—including the soot balls (if they could breathe)—while awaiting Chihiro's answer.

She took a deep breath and murmured grimly, "I'm dying."

* * *

"How… how can this be..?" Lin asked again, choking on a sob.

Chihiro hugged Lin tightly again. The woman cried into her clothes, getting them damp with her tears. The usually unfeeling boiler man wiped some tears away from his face under his sunglasses, and he looked at his sweet granddaughter from where he was.

Chihiro, the sweetest, strongest and bravest person in the world was dying? That could not be true. After all, karma was something spirits believed in very much. Tears welled up in Kamaji's eyes again as he thought about his precious little granddaughter who could possibly be leaving them forever. He hadn't shed a tear in 2 whole centuries; Chihiro certainly was a force to be reckoned with, seeing that she had the power to make him cry.

Lin, on the other hand, in a nutshell, was shocked and had completely lost her composure after hearing the news. At first, she had refused to believe Chihiro's words, forcing a laugh and wanting to pretend it was just a prank. But of course, she knew that it was the harsh truth and with the thought of possibly never seeing her little sister ever again, broke down.

Chihiro grimaced internally. She should be the one crying; not them. Not that she minded at all. She was already used to it. When her friends had found out, they'd been the ones bawling and getting their pretty eyes all swollen while she was the one busy comforting them.

"I'm so sorry, Chihiro…" Lin said, obviously not done with her crying, "I should be the one comforting you, not the other way around…"

"Shh, it's alright. I understand. I'm sorry to break the news like this to you. I just ruined the mood…"

"Don't blame yourself, Chihiro. I'm a useless grandfather. I can't do anything to help you, my dear. If there was anything I could do to help, I would," Kamaji said sadly.

Although now she felt like crying too, she blinked the gathering moisture away and forced out a smile. "Well, I would feel better if you two were smiling. I love it when you smile, guys. Come on, don't cry, smile for me, won't you?" She smiled in example, and Lin hurriedly wiped her tears away, pulling away from her and tried to smile whilst sniffling. Kamaji, too, gave her a tight smile, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. It was good enough for Chihiro, though. Seeing them smile put her at ease; it was her best source of comfort.

"So, does it hurt when you undergo that what-rapy?" Lin queried again.

"Not really. It's chemotherapy."

"So that's why you lost a lot of your hair?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Oh, you poor thing. It's okay, you're still beautiful," Lin remarked, smiling a tiny smile.

"Thank you, Lin," Chihiro grinned.

"See what you've done, you little squirt. I can't believe you made me cry! You just ruined my strong image," she jested, trying to lighten the mood, although she still couldn't help but sniffle here and there.

"More like hot-headed."

Lin pretended to be angry again, but it didn't quite work with her swollen eyes and red nose. Instead, she looked rather foolish, and so the girl burst out laughing.

She was dumbfounded at first; she didn't know why Chihiro was laughing, but her laughter was so contagious, eventually she herself began to laugh along too. Kamaji chuckled to himself and began to get ready for bed. It was late and time to go to sleep. The soot balls knew it too, and so one by one, they scurried back into their little holes, ready for a good night's rest.

As the girls embraced one more time, Lin whispered in her ear, "I guess you ain't too bad, little dope."

Chihiro grinned. "Just say you love me and get it over with."

Lin rolled her eyes. "My compliments are hard to earn. Take it or leave it." Standing up to leave, she bid them goodnight and left for the dorm.

Chihiro, suddenly feeling a little cold, snuggled underneath Kamaji's blanket. "Goodnight, grandpa," she smiled contentedly.

"Goodnight, Chihiro. Have a good rest; it's been a long day," Kamaji returned and covered his body with the blanket to shield it from the cold air. Then he turned out the lights.

The room was now quiet and in a couple of minutes, it was broken by Kamaji's snoring. Chihiro giggled and when she closed her eyes, a wave of drowsiness washed over her, pulling her into a deep sleep as she smiled satisfactorily. What great friends she had.

In the meantime, while the Spirit World was in a deep slumber, a certain other friend she had yet to reconcile with was already making his way to the bathhouse for his next visit.

* * *

A/N: Ohoho she finally told them! Annnnddd yeap you guys can expect some interesting stuff the next chapter! I hope this kind of explains some of your questions on Chihiro's condition? And feel free to tell me if I made any mistakes in the technical stuff!

Thank you so much to my great reviewees:

**EpicThunder101, Angelic Toaster, WhiteTiger246, EasternWindDragon, Otakusofia and Leeshyloo! **

Lol I'm really warmed by all your encouragements and support guys! Thank you so much for reviewing; you have no idea how much they mean to me! Just one little review always makes my day! (:

Thanks for reading and I should be coming back with another update soon since well, the June holidays officially start this Saturday! (: God bless! ^^


	6. Forgotten Stranger

The Wait: Forgotten Stranger

"_Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would, I'd never leave."__  
__-__A.A. Milne__, Winnie-the-Pooh_

A man lay sprawled out on the fresh green grass, enjoying the smell of fresh dew on the soft, green blades. He inhaled deeply and gazed at the sunrise lying on the far end of the horizon, deep in thought. The weather was good and Mother Nature seemed to be in a good mood, with all the birds singing cheerfully and fishes swimming freely in the water, enjoying the simplicity and freedom in life.

"It's a beautiful day again," he murmured quietly. His mind went over a lot of things: the shelter, the spirits back there and how his friends back in the bathhouse were doing. Hopefully Kamaji was coping well; he'd complained of sores all over his body the previous time they'd met. It seemed his age was finally catching up with his body that had slaved for Yubaba for too long now.

Then there were the yunas who'd flirt with him no matter how cold he was to them. They just couldn't take a hint, or perhaps they were simply too stupid to read social cues. Lin had called them mindless bimbos once and he had to admit, that was one of the only points he agreed with her on. It was going to be another rough battle trying to avoid them again later.

And, of course, there was Lin. He groaned internally. Every visit he made to the bathhouse was practically asking for a headache. Lin always had a reason to complain about the bathhouse. It was either Chichiyaku or some other bimbo yuna, or it would be Aniyaku or some 'man-whore' customer or worker.

He sighed again, thinking back to the shelter and his work. It was his break from work, and he hoped there wouldn't be any special circumstances to make him have to cut his precious rest time short. As for the shelter, he'd left Shou in charge. If there was any emergency, he'd be contacted by Miru but hopefully everything would be alright. Nothing out of the ordinary had come up the past couple of weeks, and it would be preferable for it to stay that way.

The gentle breeze played with his hair and with his eyelids closed, he was close to dozing off. It was so comfortable; he was reluctant to open his eyes although he couldn't afford to be late and he didn't even want to imagine what Lin would do to him if he was. Not like she could do anything anyway. He overpowered her easily.

Clearing his mind of all thoughts, he adjusted his position on the grass. It was time to rest, after all, and not to think about stuff anymore. His ears perked up at the sounds of nature, listening out to the prominent chirping of birds.

However, as the minutes passed and as he listened more intently, they soon morphed into terrifying screeches that grew louder and louder. He cringed internally and tried to move, but it was as if his body was paralyzed and glued to the ground firmly. He struggled and struggled, but to no avail. The never-ending darkness was also getting to him, seeing that he could not open his eyes. All he had were his ears and nose to figure out what in the world was going on.

'_Look out!' _

_The sound of a whip was heard as it landed hard on the fragile surface of the woman's skin, tearing it open mercilessly. Blood gushed out instantly, but it was mixed with a light green liquid that oozed out along with it gruesomely. Her expression was of pure terror and pain. _

_A thousand things raced through his mind, the memories and times they'd shared. And yet, before him, was the same person whom he did not want to live without, who just protected him for the last time. She smiled weakly at him before she lost her strength and slumped against him. His eyes, filled with shock, before long, brimmed with tears. _

'_No!' _

Images flooded his mind. Haku's eyes snapped open, and he was suddenly well awake and aware of his surroundings. His heart beat erratically and he stood up, clenching his fists tightly. His knuckles slowly turned an unnatural shade of white and tiny beads of perspiration lined his forehead.

'_I'm sorry…'_ he repeated time and again in his mind. No, he did not do it on purpose. He never meant any harm. But it was still his fault, nonetheless. The nightmares were parasites, refusing to leave and instead remained to suck the life from him and determined to haunt him for the rest of his life.

Shaking his head to regain his clear-headed self, he raked his fingers through his hair and looked at the sky which seemed to have changed the last time he saw it. Now there were dark clouds overhead and if he didn't hurry to the bathhouse, he'd likely be caught in a bad thunderstorm.

'_She's gone. That's enough, Haku.' _

Disallowing further thoughts, he shed his human skin and took off.

* * *

"Chihiro, Chihiro! Chihiro, you pig, wake up!"

The woman jerked out of her sleep and sat up, eyes wide for a second. "What happened?" she asked, though it came out as "Wuh habbuhh..?" Before she knew it, her eyes could no longer take it and shut close again. She attempted to lay down again when a hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"Wake up, you!" a woman's voice sounded like an annoying alarm clock.

Irritated at the person who was keeping her from her sleep, she swatted randomly, hoping to whack the person away pathetically. "No one's dying…" she mumbled, lying down again.

Lin, who was now pissed off at the sleeping beauty in front of her, threw a few pieces of star shaped crackers at her head. "Ahh, go away! Just a few more minutes, mom…"

"Who's your mom here, ya dope? Get up already! Are you sick?"

A few more violent shakes and whacks, and an annoyed, drowsy Chihiro was up and awake. "What's wrong?" she asked, rubbing her bleary eyes and squinting to get her eyes to adjust to the light. Her vision was blurred, but soon it managed to focus and everything became clearer. Lin was kneeling beside her, looking very worried. Her forehead crinkled with concern.

"Chihiro, you sweat a lot in your sleep last night. Are you feeling okay?" she repeated for about the umpteenth time.

It took a few seconds for her semi-lucid mind to register the question. She blinked and looked at her clothes. They were all soaked in her sweat and she felt unbelievably sticky. If only she had deodorant with her right then; she must have smelled horrible. Some strands of her hair were matted to her neck and forehead, so she got to untangling the damp strands of hair and smoothing her hair out.

Even the blanket Kamaji had lent her was damp. She felt a pang of guilt for making his blanket all gross and disgusting.

"Hey, didn't you hear me? Are you feeling alright?" Lin moved to place her hand on Chihiro's forehead, but was stopped by her.

"I'm fine, don't worry. It's kind of something I've gotten used to…"

"So you just sweat a lot naturally?"

"No, it's just one of the symptoms of my illness, that's all. Nothing to worry about; other than the fact that it's very annoying to have to deal with in the mornings or in the middle of the night."

"Oh." Lin's mouth was dry suddenly, not knowing what to say. The topic was still kind of hard for them, and Chihiro could tell. It was understandable though.

She smiled kindly at her. "Well, I better clean up. Do you have a change of clothes for me?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I think I do. You wanna wear the bathhouse clothes again?"

Chihiro made a face. "Anything else you have?"

Lin chuckled. "Well, I'll see what I can do. Wait here. I'll go wash the blanket for you first."

"No, I'll wash it! I was the one who got it dirty, after all."

"Nah, you'll only get yourself seen if you do. Just stay here like a good girl and I'll be right back." Lin left quickly before Chihiro could reply.

Shaking her head at her stubborn sister, Chihiro got up and realized it was well into the morning. Kamaji was hard at work and the soot balls had apparently just finished eating. They were now busy listening to Kamaji's commands and waving their morning greetings to the woman.

"Awake now, I see," the boiler man said.

"Good morning, Kamaji," she grinned, "sorry about getting your blanket dirty…"

"Don't worry about it, dear," he waved it off, smiling a little.

She beamed at him and then stretched, hearing satisfying cracks from her bones. Swinging her arms to relax and loosen her muscles, she paced about, bored. She spent some time watching the soot balls, but to be honest, to have to stay in the boiler room without being able to walk about or talk to people was kind of boring. It wasn't that Kamaji didn't talk to her; she just didn't want to bother him while he was working.

She sighed. She could only decide on her next move when Haku came. If he remembered her, maybe then they would work something out. If he didn't, then well, she would just head home and force herself to let go.

Her lips turned into a small pout just thinking about Haku not remembering her. She couldn't blame him if he didn't, but it would be plain unfair for her to have remembered him while he forgot, and for her to have childishly waited for a decade for him to fulfill that promise, a possibly empty one even, that he may have made in the spur of the moment before she left.

She even remembered the way his silky fur felt on her fingers. Oh, how she enjoyed stroking his fur and nestling her face against it. Her worries and everything else would just fly off with the wind, and it was just like she did not have a care in the world when flying with him.

Then there was his soothing voice that was firm and composed at all times. It was the one that had helped to hold her together, the one that had kept her from falling apart altogether when she was a frightened 10-year-old girl.

And last of all, there was his warm, gentle touch that she loved and missed dearly.

Countless times she'd dreamt of how they would meet again, how he'd come for her, and how she'd spend the rest of her days with him before she could die with no regrets.

But perhaps those would just remain as mere fantasies and dreams.

"Okay, I'm back," Lin announced as she crawled through the passageway into the boiler room. With her, she carried a couple of clothes that were slung over her shoulder.

The woman went back into reality and turned to face Lin.

"Wow, that was fast," Chihiro remarked.

"Thanks. So, pick any," she dumped the small pile of clothes on the ground and rummaged through it. She then picked out a light green blouse for Chihiro. "How's this?"

Chihiro held it to check if it fitted her. "Um, it's a tad too small."

"Hmm, thought so. That was from ages back." Lin then took it from Chihiro and set it aside before picking out a black top with a simple floral design at the corners. "This one's too big," she murmured, and went on with the clothes she'd brought.

* * *

"I think this one's good," Lin smiled, finally satisfied.

"But, it's too fancy, Lin. Just give me the baggy shirts and pants. They'll do. Honest."

"It's alright. Just take it. And anyway, it's not like you won't be returning it to me, right?" Lin grinned.

Chihiro sighed in defeat. "Fine, Lin. Thank you so much."

Lin had loaned her a beautiful baby blue summer dress. It was rather simple, with thin straps and two white buttons, one after another lining the area at her chest. It was decorated with a white lace design as well, which made the dress all the sweeter. On the bottom part of the dress, there were two thin, white stripes to compliment the dress.

"I knew this one would look good on you," she winked.

"Say, Lin, when did you wear this?"

"I wore it a long time ago. It's really good on you, though."

A light blush brought some color to her cheeks and she looked away shyly. "Thanks…" she touched the woolen hat on her head self-consciously. If only she had her long hair, she'd look prettier. She was definitely not worth such a dress; she only made it look uglier.

"I'd better get back now. There's a really big customer waiting and Yubaba's just about getting her knickers in a dead knot. Talk to you later, alright?"

Chihiro nodded. "Alright, bye Lin!"

Kamaji smiled to himself. If only Haku could see how she looked like. He'd probably get a nosebleed.

"Kamaji, what're you smiling to yourself about?"

"Nothing," he lied.

Just then, a light wind blew in the boiler room. Chihiro glanced around. Was it a thunderstorm? She hadn't felt the slightest gusts of wind ever since she arrived.

"Ahh, I see, he's back."

"Who?" Chihiro bit her gum, her intuition already screaming the visitor's name.

"Haku, of course."

The door creaked open and in stepped a man with large, confident strides.

He had long forest green hair that was tied back neatly in a low ponytail, while his side fringe was left untied, shielding the side of his face mysteriously. His striking emerald eyes seemed to be tired and annoyed and his nostrils were flared slightly. His finely chiseled jaw was set tightly and she could see the veins in his neck stick out.

Her eyes then travelled downwards to see him dressed neatly in a navy blue tunic with its long sleeves folded, most probably to allow some ventilation in the boiler room. His muscles and biceps stood out prominently and she swallowed thickly. His white pants were clean, and not a speck of dust could be found on them. But then again, she was standing quite a distance away.

When she was done checking him out, she realized that he was staring at her as well. She blushed and immediately scolded herself for ogling over the man. He still bore some of the features as a younger boy, but now, he had obviously grown into a fine man, and boy, was he well-built.

'_Stop it!'_ she chided herself again, mentally slapping herself for good measure.

"Well, good to see you again, Haku," Kamaji greeted from where he was. He tried to maintain his stone cold stance while watching the two's expressions.

Haku cleared his throat a little uncomfortably. "Same here, Kamaji."

Awkward silence lingered and they shuffled about awkwardly. Chihiro bit her lip, wondering what she could possibly say. She'd planned whatever she would have wanted to say to him, but right then her brain just chose the perfect time to stop working.

"The yunas were at it again, I see," Kamaji commented, eyeing the man's irritated face.

He sighed. "You don't want to know what they tried this time…"

"Hmph. Shameless women." Kamaji was put off by them to say the least. Haku felt the same way too.

"I take it that Lin is still working?" he asked.

Chihiro felt like a knife just pierced through her heart. Rejection weighed heavily on her and she looked at Haku, wondering if he still remembered. He hadn't done anything to even display the tiniest acknowledgement towards her.

She tried again, praying, hoping for a sign. However, there was nothing she could find in his eyes. No recognition, only politeness, the same politeness he had masked on his face when he was around Yubaba and the other workers in the past.

"She's working," Kamaji replied. Shouldn't Haku have realized that it was Chihiro by then? He was, after all, one of the sharpest spirits he knew. Nothing could escape him, and if he said he couldn't remember Chihiro, that man deserved a good whacking. He would not believe it if Haku said he'd forgotten; he would never allow himself to forget his lover, or at the very least, his benefactor.

"Mmm…" he nodded, "so is your back doing any better?"

"Nothing too much to handle. Anyway, this is Chihiro. Remember my granddaughter?"

Chihiro silently thanked Kamaji. Perhaps Haku just didn't remember her because she'd changed. Lin and Kamaji hadn't been able to recognize her before because of that as well.

She looked on hopefully at Haku, searching for even the slightest bit of recognition. But there was nothing. Nothing visibly warm in it towards her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Kohaku. Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi," he greeted, bowing.

Another wave of rejection came over her. That was not how things were supposed to work out. He was supposed to know her, and he was supposed to be the Haku whom she knew, the close friend and guardian who'd aided her just 10 years ago. He was supposed to embrace her and assure her of his presence and fulfillment of his promise after so long. They were supposed to have conversed like there was no tomorrow.

Why did reality have to be so harsh, so different from what she'd dreamed?

Tears filled her eyes. "…You really don't know… who I am..?" she asked, voice perilously close to cracking.

He looked at her and after a few seconds of scrutinizing, replied curtly, "Sorry, I'm afraid I don't."

Well, who was she kidding? Why on earth would someone as great as Haku remember her, a mere, worthless human? As much as she tried to force the tears back, they just kept building up in her eyes. She would not let him see her cry. Not in a million years.

Looking up at him again, she plastered a smile on her face. "Nice to meet you too, I'm Chihiro."

Before the first tear slid down her face, she ran past the stranger and out the door.

* * *

A/N: Well. *hides under blanket and peeks out* I'm sure you guys are all like, how can he forget her? Is this for real? Rage rage rage… etc.

I'm not going to reveal anything, so just keep reading haha. (: So I'm really glad you guys liked this story so far and thank you for all your heartwarming reviews; they really, truly made my day and I LOVE YOU GUYS! 3

A big shout-out to my great reviewees:

**Ialiceiamagodness, Savvyzzzz The Awesome Ninja, Eliza272, Angelic Toaster, WhiteTiger246, Leeshyloo, LilyWhite13, sootsprite571, EasternWindDragon **and** EpicThunder101! **

Don't cry! D': *distributes tissue boxes* I didn't really mean for you guys to get all sad the previous chapter hehe. (Translation: There will be sadder moments later.)

I spent the entire day on this chapter and yet it was shorter than usual… but I think this was not too bad a spot to stop. (: I actually wanted to stop earlier, but never mind. :P

So thanks for supporting this story thus far and fare thee well. May fate bring us together again soon. Would thou honor me with the pleasures of a review?

Sorry I can't really speak Shakespeare but it's fun to try even though I fail at it. Haha. Okay I'll really stop now. Bye! ;)


	7. Hidden Motives

The Wait: Hidden Motives

Cold. It was too cold. Chihiro was greeted by a blast of icy cold raindrops that pelted her skin and clothes. The dress absorbed the rain and in no time at all, she was soaked to the bone. It was a heavy thunderstorm out, and the black clouds that covered the sky gave out an ominous and nasty feeling. The harsh winds nearly blew the underweight woman off her feet and swept her off into the deep abyss below.

Her tears spilled out freely and she looked to the sky, though shielding her eyes with one hand to prevent water from getting in. Soon, her tears were mixed in the rain, and she couldn't tell if she was crying or not. Only her constant sniffing told her she still was.

She contemplated running up the stairs; she had no desire to see that stranger whom she thought she knew. But frankly, she was too scared to go up and no matter how upset she was at him, she was not going to leave and get herself turned into a pig if discovered. What was more, her body couldn't take the exercise, especially not in that weather. She had to go back in soon or she'd catch a cold, and it'd most probably develop into a high fever which would be troublesome to deal with. She didn't have her medicine here.

No matter though, she already had it planned out, didn't she? She would go back to the human world, back to the hospital for treatment.

Then why was she hesitating? Her head was telling her to give up and go back to where she truly belonged, but what she truly wanted was to stay in the Spirit World. What for, though? Why in the world did she want to stay there? It wasn't like Haku remembered her; she was a thing of the past. There was no more use in staying in the Spirit World.

Maybe it was the part of her that wanted to think that he was just pretending, like it was all a bad joke on April Fools' Day. But the more rationale part of her knew that it was all real. Despite herself, she smirked at her pathetic state.

To think that she'd actually kept him in her heart for a whole 10 years while he'd forgotten about her. He did a rather clean job at that too. She was a fool; she actually thought that she could have a chance with the dragon. He was a spirit while she was a dying, sick human. Why on earth would he want to keep such a repulsive thing in his memory, let alone be her friend?

Something caught in her throat and she choked on her tears. She just didn't want to think anymore. It was too overwhelming. All she wanted was some alone time. But could she go out? Maybe she could risk it.

'_You're crazy,'_ a voice spoke in her mind.

'_Maybe I am,'_ another voice rebutted.

She took a feeble and wobbly step towards the tall, menacing staircase that was most probably infested with termites.

One step. She was going to forget Haku.

Another step. She was going to throw away the memories they had shared when they were young.

Yet another step. She'd continue living her life and sever all ties with this world; hopefully Kamaji and Lin wouldn't get too angry with her for that.

She was going to take her next step when her legs gave way. She landed roughly on the ground, her butt getting most of the impact. "Crap…" she groaned, clutching her spinning head.

Chihiro checked her forehead with the back of her hand. It was kind of warm. Oh, great. She was getting sick. That was practically a sign for her to just get lost and back into the human world already.

"Don't move."

She jumped at the sudden appearance of a voice behind her. Thinking she'd been discovered, a small gasp escaped her lips and instantly a hand was shoved against her mouth, muffling any squirming sounds she made. Chihiro's eyes widened to see the man's body pressed against hers, shielding her against the wall. The body warmth he emitted felt nice and she wanted to lean against him. His hair touched the sides of her face and it tickled her. A strong sense of déjà vu came over her.

If her head wasn't hurting so badly and if she wasn't so dizzy, she would have tried to push him away from the embarrassment. Not to mention she was still rather angry at him.

"They're looking for you. Get back in," he said after a while, helping her up.

However, she wouldn't budge. "You're going to be discovered. Hurry," he urged, but still she refused to cooperate.

"Are you feeling alright?" He seemed to notice her abnormally pale complexion and bent down to have a better look.

She didn't give him an answer. She could feel the bile coming up her throat and did not want to move for fear of spilling her guts out. It would be horribly messy and bad-smelling; she'd be discovered in no time in that case.

She held up one hand to notion for him to wait for a moment. Her breaths became more and more irregular as black spots appeared in her vision. Her ragged breaths only seemed to make the man worry more, however.

He looked around with a slightly anxious look on his face. "I apologize for my rudeness beforehand."

Before she could even wonder what he was going to do, she was hoisted off her feet and carried bridal style by him. Instinctively, she rested her dizzy head against his chest, shutting her eyes to try getting rid of the dizziness. In a flash, they were back in the boiler room and the warmth did help to soothe her freezing and trembling figure.

Ever carefully, he set her down on a blanket Kamaji had provided and covered her with another one, wrapping it tightly around her. She silently thanked him for not carrying her over his back or the consequences would have been plain disgusting.

"You're burning," he commented quietly, and rubbed his hands on her arms to create some friction. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she bit her lip and tried to sit up, only to be forced back down by him.

"Don't move," he ordered sternly.

"I said I'm fine," she argued, pushing his hands away, though they did not budge in the slightest. Truth was, she wanted him to stay with her, and she was happy that he actually cared for her, but then again, it was normal to react in that way even towards strangers.

Since he had forgotten about her, she did not want him to be anywhere near her. It would just make her struggle even tougher. All she asked for was to forget him and to just let go.

"Your face is pale and you're shivering. You nearly fainted out there and you still say you're fine?"

She looked up at him and winced at the abrupt movement her head had to endure. "I don't need your pity," she returned coldly.

He seemed to shut up at that and he remained silent for a while, scaring her as she wondered what was going through that mind of his. Tension built up between them and for a second she wondered if she should apologize.

"Fine, suit yourself." He stood up and headed out the exit, the one that Lin always used. "I'm going to look for Lin, Kamaji," he said from behind him before sliding the door closed.

'_Forget the apology,'_ she scoffed. Tears stung Chihiro's eyes again. That curt, cold tone hurt her to no end. That was the voice he'd used as 'Master Haku' before.

Just thinking was making her head hurt. She closed her eyes, attempting to get some good rest, but the minute she closed her eyes, Haku would drift into her mind. Forget about sleeping. She wouldn't be able to. She was just torturing herself.

"Chihiro, lie down, you're not feeling well now," Kamaji stated.

"I'm fine, really. This happens all the time," she replied, pushing the blanket off her despite still feeling chilly and standing up. However, when she stood up, more black spots covered her vision. When her buckling knees could no longer support her weight, she stumbled and fell down, her throbbing head taking up all her concentration.

She could hear Kamaji's panicked voice in the background, shouting some incoherent words, but was unable to make out any of them. All she knew was that she was losing consciousness fast.

Haku's cold mask appeared in her mind again before she blacked out.

* * *

Haku walked about aimlessly on the ground floor, where it was all busy and full of customers. The workers were bustling around, busy entertaining various customers. The regulars, like the radish spirit, were being attended to enthusiastically. Apparently, there was a very important customer in the big tub yet again and he noticed the workers scuttling here and there, bolting to and fro, hands full with the trays of food or holding bath tokens.

"Where're the grilled mudskippers?! Hurry over here!"

"Order for the extra large slug stew special!"

If he'd still been working there, he'd have been telling the others off for being so unnecessarily loud and being a nasty nuisance to the rest of their customers.

It sure was rather nostalgic to be in the place he'd been trapped in for so long after a while. Perhaps he didn't have the fondest of memories here, but it was here that he'd met _her._

"Is there anything I can do for you, Haku-sama?" a high-pitched voice giggled.

Haku didn't even have to turn his head to know that it was another stupid yuna. Perhaps taking a walk wasn't the best choice after all.

"No thanks," he muttered before walking off. He was aware of the females by the sides watching him and giggling to themselves, but he ignored them.

"Maybe you could take a bath? I would be most honored to serve you." The woman shamelessly chased after Haku and clung to his arm, making sure to let her breasts brush against it. She was secretly glad she had those assets to make almost every man fall for her instantly. And it was high-time she made a move on one of the most eligible bachelors in the Spirit Realm.

"I'm sorry, I was just about to leave," Haku forced a smile and wrenched his arm out of her hold. _'Be polite, be polite,'_ he chanted in his head. The last time he flared up at someone, the results hadn't been pretty. And he was quite sure the entire bathhouse would not want a repeat of that, especially Yubaba.

"Oh, don't be shy. Our baths are very luxurious and popular with spirits from all over the world! And-"

"I worked here before, so you don't have to waste your breath explaining things to me," he curtly replied and turned to leave.

But of course, she wouldn't give up that easily.

"Then you probably have heard of me, haven't you, Master Haku," she purred seductively in his ear, stroking his arm suggestively. His eyebrow twitched, nostrils flared, but she took no notice.

"I'm Karin, and I am sure I can satisfy your needs perfectly, Master," she grinned and licked her lips in the way that turned every man whom she'd interacted with on, tugging on his arm to go upstairs into the rooms.

"You must not have heard me correctly, yuna. I was just about to leave," he snarled, grabbing her hand and pushing it away. She stumbled backwards, shocked to say the least. She wanted to chase after him again, but she knew better than to further agitate the dragon, so she could only gape and watch as he stalked off towards the elevator before huffing off haughtily.

"Found you," a woman sidled up to him. "Rough day?"

"What do you think?" he returned to his friend who had just caught up with him.

"The yunas have really bad taste," she commented.

Haku rolled his eyes. "Give me a break, Lin."

The doors of the elevator opened and they stepped in, followed quickly by a group of giggling females. Lin rolled her eyes openly while Haku sighed inwardly. "Hey there, Haku-sama," some of the ladies waved, to which he feigned cold ignorance. Taking advantage of the small space in the elevator, they pressed their bodies as closely to Haku as possible. Lin, being unable to stand the sight further, cleared her throat unceremoniously.

When the doors finally opened again, she pushed her way past all the girls who were reluctant to leave Haku who had yet to make a move to leave, seeing that he was all the way at the back of the elevator.

"If you'll excuse me," he muttered before summoning a quick gust of wind to throw them all out of the elevator while he took his time to walk out coolly.

Lin snickered as she walked over to his side again. "Nice move there, dragon."

"Thanks." He watched as she handed over a couple of trays of food to other workers attending to the customers in the rooms.

"You seen Kamaji yet?"

"Yeah, I have."

From the corner of his eye, he caught her eyes brighten as a mischievous smile appeared on her face. "So, I assume you met her, eh?" They made their way back to the elevator.

"Met who?"

She glowered at him. "Don't play dumb. There're no females in the boiler room. So, you finally met Chihiro, eh?"

"Yeah, Kamaji's granddaughter right?"

Lin made a face, confused. "Yeah… why're you talking like you don't even know her, dragon?"

"Kamaji just introduced us," he replied, mentally preparing himself for the screaming of a lifetime.

"It's Chihiro. Sen. Don't you know her?" Lin's voice was already raised slightly.

"I told you, I just met her today."

The weasel spirit dropped the lunch basket she was holding and the anger took no time at all to fuel in her. "What the hell are you talking about, you stupid dragon?! She's Chihiro! Sen! Remember her?"

"I really don't recall anyone named Chihiro or Sen. Are we talking about one or two people here?"

That did it. "_Chihiro_ helped you get your name back! And you're telling me you don't remember her?! What kind of a joke are you trying to play here? If it's a prank, it ain't funny!" she all but screamed, earning strange glances and heads swiveling in her directions. It was silent for a few seconds, with everyone pausing from what they were doing and staring, wondering what in the world was going on. Haku sighed.

Without another word, he dragged her into the elevator while everyone else in it cowardly scuttled out.

"Stop making such a fuss, Lin. You're disturbing everyone else," he said.

"You're telling me to stop making a fuss? You're the one who has the guts to forget who Chihiro is! Even Aniyaku and all the other assholes in this bathhouse remember her and you, the one closest to her at the time, are telling me, that you don't remember her?! What, have you leveled up from being a jerk to an asshole like all the others now?"

Haku clenched his fists. He didn't need people to tell him that he was being a jerk.

"You're being really unfair to her, you know that?"

"Enough!"

His sudden burst of anger surprised her, but she stood her ground firmly.

"Don't tell me what to do, dragon. She's my sister and I'm not going to let anyone hurt her so easily," she swallowed thickly, "You don't even know what the situation is, you idiot!" Turning away, she sucked in a deep breath, determined not to get overly agitated. She couldn't cry; she had to be strong for Chihiro.

"What? What situation?"

Without turning around, she snapped, "What do you care? You don't even know her, and it's not my place to say."

He shot her a murderous glare, although she very well couldn't see it. "Fine, Lin. But I don't need you to tell me what to remember and what not to remember."

"Fine, be that way, you ungrateful bastard. I'm going to check up on her now. I'm not letting you off that easy, ya hear?" With that, she huffed out of the elevator.

Raking his fingers through his hair, he stepped out and knocked his head against the nearest wall. As much as he hatedto admit, Lin was right. He was being an asshole and he was being unfair to Chihiro. But for the sake of her well-being, he couldn't afford to give any leeway to his own selfishness.

But why did doing the seemingly right thing feel so wrong?

'_It's already settled. No going back on your word, Kohaku.' _

In short, the sooner she got back to the human world, the better.

But then, what was the 'situation' Lin mentioned that got her all emotional? His curiosity had been piqued and once he was intrigued, there was no stopping him from finding out what he wanted to.

* * *

After making sure that Lin was on her working shift, Haku made his way back into the boiler room. He was tired of getting all those looks from the female spirits.

The room was rather empty, seeing that the soot balls were all back in their holes, not needed at the moment. The minute Kamaji spotted him, he sighed, shaking his head.

Then, his eyes spotted the human girl, resting on blankets with a towel on her forehead. Her lips and face were an unnatural shade of white. Panic sprung up in him and without thinking, he rushed to her side and gripped her hand tightly. "Chihiro! Chihiro! Are you alright?"

"She collapsed after you left," Kamaji said.

"How is she?" Haku asked anxiously.

"She's still unconscious and running a very high fever. Lin helped her change out of the wet clothes too."

He turned back to the fragile human girl, his heart breaking at the sight. What had he done?

He touched the towel to find that it was warm. Removing it, he laid the back of his hand against her forehead. One touch on her flaming skin and he knew that her fever was critically high. Dipping the towel in the ice cold water that was in the basin beside her, he cast a quick healing spell on it and placed it on her forehead again, praying that she'd be alright.

"Hmm… I thought someone forgot who she was?" Kamaji spoke up.

Haku froze. _'Crap…'_ He'd been so caught up in his worry for her that he'd completely forgotten he was supposed to keep up the façade.

"One wouldn't be so concerned about a stranger. You can't lie to me, Haku. Now out with it. Why are you doing this to my granddaughter?" the boiler man asked sternly.

The man swallowed thickly and cleared his throat. "I…" He could no longer keep it from the boiler man, so what was the use of hiding it then?

"Trust me, it's for the best."

"Care to explain, young dragon?"

Haku sighed forlornly. "She doesn't belong here."

"That's it?" Kamaji sounded genuinely surprised.

"…Were you expecting something else?"

"I was expecting a better reason for pretending to forget her after 10 years."

"If she thought I forgot her, she'd have more reason to leave."

"There's more to it, isn't there?" the wise old man said. He watched as Haku tensed uncomfortably. "I knew it. You can tell me anything, you know, Haku."

"I know. But, some things are better off left unsaid."

"_I'm sorry, I was being selfish! Don't leave, Sora! Forgive me!" he screamed in agony, watching as her eyelids began to close ever slowly and peacefully. Her hand then fell limply at her sides, its coldness lingering on his cheek. _

He tightened his grip on Chihiro's hand, squeezing it. "I'm sorry…" he murmured.

"You love her, don't you?"

Haku smirked. "Hmph. Does it matter? It's impossible."

Kamaji shook his head. "Ahh, that's where you're wrong, young lad. Don't underestimate love. It has the power to overcome even the biggest obstacles in life."

"No, you're wrong, Kamaji. Love is limited by the cruel hands of fate. No one can intervene with destiny, not even the strongest of spirits."

To that, a baffled Kamaji did not say anything. Haku gazed tenderly at Chihiro's sleeping face. She looked just like a doll, a porcelain doll. His fingers brushed by her cheek, feeling how soft and how vulnerable she was. He couldn't risk losing her, and he'd do whatever it took to keep her safe, even if it meant staying away from her.

He was suddenly reminded of what Lin said before.

"Kamaji? When I met Lin earlier on, she mentioned something rather disturbing."

"Oh? Pray tell, what did she do now?"

"I think it has something to do with Chihiro. Is there something that I don't know?"

He watched as Kamaji swallowed and paused from his work warily, unsure of an appropriate response. Something was definitely up, and he wanted to know what exactly.

"It's… It's hard to say, Haku."

"Tell me." His voice was hard.

"It's not my place to say, please understand."

"Lin isn't going to tell me, let alone Chihiro. I can only count on you now. What is so big a secret that I have to be kept in the dark?"

"I'll leave it up to Chihiro to decide whether to tell you or not." Kamaji's words were final, and Haku knew it.

"Never mind, then."

Haku went back to wondering what could be happening to Chihiro. Was she pregnant? No, that was ridiculous. Mentally punching himself, he continued on with the possible list, until he got to the possibility he feared most:

Was Chihiro dying?

Looking at her skinny and petite, weak figure, something lodged in his throat. Could it be? Could it be true?

It was just his unsubstantiated speculation. It just had to be. How he would handle such news, he didn't know, nor did he want to know. Perhaps a mental breakdown would be in store.

'_You shouldn't be meddling in her affairs, not anymore. You've chosen to forget her already.' _

Indeed, he had to stop. Nothing would change, whether he learned of whatever circumstances she was in or not.

"If she leaves, she may not ever come back again. Are you okay with that?" the old man spoke up.

Haku smiled sadly and squeezed her hand. "As long as she is safe, I'm content."

* * *

A/N: I can't believe I stayed up till 1am+ just to write this even through a migraine, but I just couldn't stop. And I wrote this like, 1 or 2 days after my update LOL. Gosh I am officially obsessed. (Didn't update because I needed to edit stuff here and there hehe.)

So yeah, you guys thought he actually forgot about her? Think again! :P But it was quite fun reading all your reviews HAHA. Mostly because I know everything that's going on… Heh. *hides* You guys probably wanna kill me now. XD Oh well. Kill me and you won't have updates anymore mwahahahaha.

So anyways, thank you to my great, cool, funny reviewees:

**Leeshyloo, michelle88222, Eliza272, Angelic Toaster, Ryu no Kokoro, WhiteTiger246, EpicThunder101, LilyWhite13, EasternWindDragon, darksaphire and Savvyzzzz The Awesome Ninja! **

Thanks for reading! Bye! (:

P.S. Fun fact: Leaving reviews help to exercise your fingers. (Proven by yours truly HAHA) :DDD


	8. I'll Protect You

The Wait: I'll Protect You

"_I guess what scares me the most now is the thought that I won't be able to protect you." _

_-Julie Hoban, Willow_

"You have got to be kidding me… Stay a little longer, please? I don't know when you'll come back again…" Lin was close to crying. Chihiro hugged her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Lin. But I have to get back to the hospital. My mom probably flipped when she learnt of my unofficial leave, and if I don't hurry back, I don't want to know what will happen."

"But… but will you be coming back?" asked Lin, pulling away and looking into her eyes.

Chihiro's eyes were filled with grief. She didn't want to leave as she—and everyone else—knew that she may not be granted the privilege of returning again. But, she knew what she had to do.

"I hope so, Lin. Maybe I will?" Chihiro tried in her most optimistic voice she could muster, but still it failed rather miserably.

"You better come back, squirt. I'll be waiting for you. If you don't come back, I'm not letting you off easy, ya hear?"

Both women smiled and they embraced each other in a tight squeeze again. "Got it, Lin."

"You're cutting into my time with my granddaughter, blasted weasel!" grumbled Kamaji from where he was.

Chihiro almost burst out laughing when Lin's fair face turned a dark shade of scarlet.

They pulled away and Chihiro made her way into the open arms of her grandfather. "I'll miss you, Kamaji."

"I know you will. I will miss you too. That's why I want you to have something." He turned around to grab something at the side of his seat. He held it up to Chihiro and placed it in her open palms.

She held her breath for a moment, admiring the exquisite workmanship. It was a pressed yarrow flower necklace. The yellow yarrow flowers were set in resin in a hand-antiqued bezel and hung on a polished brass chain with a hook for closure. The intricate gift felt light in her hands and for a moment she could not believe Kamaji was actually giving that to her.

"It's… it's beautiful. No, I can't accept this!" She tried to push it back into the boiler man's hands but he firmly declined.

"It's yours now. It's handmade entirely, save for the bezel and brass chain I got from my old companions."

Chihiro's eyes brimmed with tears but she blinked them back. "Thank you so much, Kamaji. I love it," she grinned before hugging him tightly again.

"These are magical yarrows. They'll ensure your full recovery, so don't worry."

Chihiro suppressed the skeptical thoughts that popped up instantly. Even magic wouldn't be able to save her. Besides, she did not want to have her hopes up in any way. The higher her hopes were, the harder her fall would be. Nevertheless, for courtesy's sake, she forced a tiny smile. "Thank you."

"You better get a move on before the dragon starts to get impatient."

At the mention of him the girl became quieter. Haku was the only one available to escort her back safely to the tunnel since Lin and Kamaji had to work, and he didn't seem too enthusiastic about it. Well, neither was she. He still bore the ice cold attitude towards her and their relationship, if they even ever had one, had basically withered and turned into dust.

"That scumbag isn't worth it, so save your tears for someone else," scoffed Lin, clearly still peeved at Haku.

"Who said I was going to cry?"

The weasel spirit grinned at her. "That's my sister. I'd ask you to stay, but you're beginning to look worse. When you get better you have to come back for another visit, alright?"

Chihiro nodded, though doubting the sincerity of that gesture. "I will. Goodbye."

Holding back her tears, she willed herself to tear her eyes away from the lovely sister of hers and the sweetest grandfather she could ever ask for. She did not have siblings, and Lin was practically like an older sister whom she treasured dearly. Her grandparents had passed away unfortunately when she was a mere infant, so she had never experienced the love of a grandparent until she met Kamaji.

How blessed she was, to have met such friends.

Hopefully they would meet again soon, she wished solemnly in her head, but knowing there was no one hearing her prayers.

She opened the door to exit before taking one last look at the soot balls which had stubbornly followed her all the way to the door, remaining recalcitrant towards Kamaji, despite his commands for them to return and threats to turn them back into soot.

"Goodbye, my little friends. Maybe we'll meet again?" her voice was barely above an inaudible whisper. Hot tears blurred her vision. Choking back a sob, she rushed out hastily and soaked in the refreshing, cool air.

The ocean blue sky seemed to stretch forever, painted with faint streaks of cotton white clouds and the waters below her sparkled like diamonds under the soft, caressing rays of the sun. The gentle breeze blew against her clean clothes, the uniform she had to wear in the hospital.

A sigh escaped her lips as she wiped the excess moisture from her eyes away. So she was returning to where she belonged. A frown appeared as she began to worry herself with the reactions from both Sakino and her mother. She could just imagine, her mother's forehead, creased with wrinkles and lips tight, tired, red-rimmed eyes livid. Sakino's eyes would have the same killer glare and pace about the room while scolding the life out of her. She could already imagine Sakino tying her to the bed, either with cuffs or thick, coarse ropes.

Chihiro shuddered when a now colder wind made goose bumps appear on her forearm.

"Are you ready to leave?" inquired a familiar voice.

She contemplated staying where she was and not responding, but concluded that it would be rude. He was the one being troubled to escort her to the tunnel while it was not his obligation to do so. _'Where are your manners, Chihiro?'_ Yuko's voice drifted into her mind. Her mother would always chide her like that whenever her manners made an escapade from her senses as a young child.

Turning her head towards him, she plastered a polite smile on her face and replied as decently politely as she could, "Yes." She mentally applauded herself for acting maturely.

Well, no one said a 20-year-old had to shed her childish ways. As long as she kept them hidden, there wouldn't be a problem. Her thoughts were her own after all.

Her eyes were now on the man, whose hair, neatly combed and tied into a ponytail, save for his flying fringe, was being swept to and fro by the winds. She wondered how he never seemed to get annoyed at his fringe for being in his face all the time and being a terribly annoying obstruction to his vision.

As if he'd heard her thoughts, he flipped his hair to the side, getting it out of his face and tucking it behind his ear loosely. With his hair out of his face, his piercing jade eyes stood out strikingly against his fair complexion. The man was clad immaculately, in a dark green short-sleeved tunic, bringing out his eyes well. His black pants looked perfectly ironed, with not a hint of crumpled fabric anywhere.

If her mother saw Haku she would be muttering remarks of approval and telling Chihiro he was a good catch. She tried not to roll her eyes at that. Her mother had been bugging her to get into a relationship and settle down for a long time, especially since she had not ever dated before. But all the men were just not her type. Her type was—

No, she was well over it. She was going to be.

"Just climb on my back when I change. I'll catch you if you fall." His tone was neither unkind nor friendly; just plain neutral and distant.

"Sure."

The next thing she knew, a dazzling, bright light shone from his chest and slowly, it engulfed his body. Chihiro shielded her eyes with one hand, the light proving too overwhelming for the naked eye. When the light faded, her hand rested by her side again to reveal a magnificent yet fearsome beast.

The dragon bore similar traits to the last time she had seen him. Its mane was the same sea green; its scales had the same pearlescent glow to them. The main thing that had obviously changed was his size. Its slender body stretched longer than she remembered. It now stood much taller, towering over her petite frame. The horns on the dragon's head seemed to have grown sharper and bigger too.

Her eyes hovered at its mouth which kept its neat rows of sharp, flesh-eating teeth well hidden from view. If she hadn't seen the dragon before, she would have automatically registered herself as its food.

Suddenly she was feeling wary. How was she to get on his back? The dragon was way too tall for her to climb up and she would most probably fall trying to do so.

Or end up stuck in a split.

She tried not to roll her eyes at the last time she attempted pathetically to do a split. To say it was humiliating would be the understatement of the century. She simply wasn't the flexible type.

The dragon seemed to sense her hesitation. In one swift and strong motion, it sprung off the wooden platform and into the air, making it wobble. Chihiro barely managed to keep her balance atop the shaking thing and nearly died of a heart attack. Being that high above the ground was already not doing any good to her nerves. Shaking it was just bringing her fear to a whole new level.

Glowering at the dragon, she looked him in the eye and thought she spotted something new in them. It wasn't coldness or a spaced-out poker face; there was actually… amusement in his eyes?

As soon as it had appeared though, the emotion left those emerald pools, leaving her to dismiss it as a hallucination.

Now floating on the side of the platform with its back on the same level as it, the dragon waited for her to get on. She bit her lip, not knowing if she would slip and fall. Even if she was dying she saw no point in speeding up the process.

The animal grunted, making her jump in slight shock. _"Get on!"_ it seemed to say. She looked at its back apprehensively. She hadn't ridden on his back for a long time already, who was to say she wouldn't fall off?

"_I'll catch you if you fall." _His words drifted into her mind. With a final apprehensive look at the still waiting dragon, she inhaled deeply.

As her feet neared the edge, her heart began to thump faster and faster in her heart. The dragon grunted again, and this time she felt like kicking him. She was a frightened woman for goodness' sake! Have a little patience, would he?

Lowering her body into a timid crawl, she hitched one leg over the side of his body and quickly, not wanting to think into it any further, reached her hands out to grab his horns tightly. She felt her body slide comfortably atop his back and with a satisfied grunt—as she interpreted it to be—Haku was up and off into the air at a nice and slow pace.

Looking downwards at the enormous landscape, Chihiro felt very small in comparison. As eye-catching as the scenery was, her fears still caught up to her and her clammy hands automatically tightened their grip around the dragon's horns. She tried to stick her body as close as possible to the dragon's which helped to make her feel more secure.

Riding in silence, she began to feel a sense of nostalgia sweep over her. She remembered her adrenaline rising as she flew up in the skies on his back, excitement filling her sparkly hazel eyes. Flying was fun, except that she hadn't flown in a long time already; she was supposed to avoid travel in the weeks following after her chemotherapy—

A string of curses went off in her head before she could stop them. Her blood count was already low, and what was more she was having a high fever! Hopefully the ride would be quick, or she would likely pass out again.

She felt a wave of nausea and moaned. The dragon's ears seemed to twitch and she realized he'd heard her. "If it's possible… please fly faster..?" Grimacing, she let go of one horn to clutch her head that was beginning to undergo a major migraine.

Suddenly she felt them dipping and she shut her eyes tightly, resting her head against him. She made a silent vow never to disobey her doctor again.

After what seemed like an eternity, she realized that they'd stopped moving and just as she was about to think of a way to get off, scales began to fly off with the wind gracefully while she was left levitating in mid-air. Chihiro was puzzled until she felt arms encircle her body, and looked up to see the man carrying her.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked. There was a slight strain in his voice and she could not tell if it was because of his annoyance or because of the awkwardness between them or if it was him actually showing signs of concern for her.

Chihiro stared up into his eyes, trying to find any indications of raw emotion in them. His fringe covered the side of his face, shielding his eye again and before she could stop herself, her hand had gone up to tuck it behind his ear gently. As her fingertips brushed by his face, little tingles spread through them and she felt as if her skin had been set on fire by a match. It was probably due to the fever.

His skin was extraordinarily smooth, yet it was strong. She felt his eyes on her and she tried desperately to find the familiar kindness she missed in them. Just when his gaze had begun to soften though, he turned away and set her down carefully on the damp grass.

"Your fever has gone up…" he muttered softly as he pressed his palm to her burning forehead.

"I…"

"Hmm?" He gazed at her expectantly.

What was going on with her? First she was angry at the man, and now she was acting so… so… improper? And what was with the woozy feeling in her stomach whenever she looked at him? Why was her heart beating so unnaturally quickly?

It must be the fever, she thought. It was most probably having fun frying her brain and making her do all sorts of insensible things.

Chihiro's eyes scanned the unfamiliar area nervously. "I— Are we at the tunnel yet?"

He shook his head. "I landed for the time being because you didn't sound too well back there."

"I-I'm alright…"

"Do you want to take a break for now?"

She eyed him suspiciously. Why was he being so nice all of a sudden? It was quite unnerving to have to try guessing his thoughts.

"Is there something on my face?" he seemed to frown.

"No, no. I don't think I need a break."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded after a moment. "It's not too far away, right?"

"It's just a little further up ahead."

"Let's get going, then. I don't want to take up any more of your time."

Haku nodded and extended a hand to help her up but instead she stood up on her own and dusted the dirt off her pants.

Just as the man was about to change though, an intimidating roar startled the two. A lightheaded Chihiro turned around and stumbled, having lost her balance but was thankfully caught by the man. His hand lingered on her waist, pulling her closer to him protectively.

She was about to try squirming out of his grasp until she saw his face. It was stiffer than ever before and a look of frustration dusted across his features. He was glaring right ahead. Chihiro concentrated her vision at where he was looking at but failed to see anything at all.

Before she could even begin to guess the source of the sound though, a ferocious ghost-like demon appeared before her eyes.

* * *

Haku kept his lips in a tight line for fear that his tongue would take on a mind of its own and start saying very ungentlemanly words before the delicate woman beside him.

With his enhanced vision and hearing, he easily identified the demon that was making its way towards them. Its eyes were a pure white like most other demons, but with streaks of black in them. Immediately he knew what that demon had been up to.

Black magic.

It disgusted him to the core; many spirits had dabbled in black magic before but because of their inability to harness it well, most of them ended up killing themselves as well as severely injuring the other spirits around them. It was a despicable practice. Most of the demons he'd had to fight had gone delusional from the possession of terrifying spirits lurking within their bodies.

"Nigi… hayami… Kohaku… Nu…shi…" The sickening life form trudged at a snail's pace towards them, droning on and on. Its tone was dripping with pure hatred.

Haku tightened his grip around the woman's waist, not caring that his actions were not corroborating with his earlier attitude or that it was not exactly polite.

"Speak. What business do you have with me?" he voiced in the tone he used to nearly everyone except for his limited number of friends whom he trusted.

"You… you… you…" it continued. He felt his limited patience running out. He didn't have the time for that. Chihiro needed to be back where she should be as soon as possible in her sickly condition.

"Haku..? Who is he?" The woman's lower lip quivered, her frightened eyes never leaving the unsightly thing. His chest tightened at the sight of her wide, terrified eyes. You'll be alright, he wanted to say. He wanted to pull her into a hug and protect her, make her feel the sense of security he'd been longing to give her for a long time now.

But no, he could not forget his position. "Go behind the tree over there," he said in a low voice and pointed to a large oak tree standing with its cluster of friends a couple of meters away, "and don't move from that spot. No sudden movements; it'll only agitate the demon. I'll settle this quickly."

Haku moved towards the demon but was held back by Chihiro's soft hand on his shoulder. "Will… will you be alright? It's dangerous…"

"I'll be fine. Don't worry. Now go. Quietly." He shot her a final nod and watched her walk away briskly before turning his attention back to the demon.

Making his way towards the demon, he stopped a fair distance away. "I don't like others wasting my time. Now speak, what business do you have with me?"

The demon, clad in nothing but its own dark red outer covering stopped. Haku noticed the trail of maroon liquid it left behind in its wake that eerily resembled blood. It was then that its lifeless eyes seemed to fully register the man standing before them and another roar escaped its open mouth, revealing three tongues, or tentacles, more likely, of red, black and purple.

Some of its toxic saliva dripped out onto the grass blades as it blasted its voice at top volume, causing some smoke to rise from the tiny dead patch of grass. Haku however, remained stoic faced, completely unfazed at its scaring attempt.

"You… my brother… onii-tan… you killed him... you killed… him!" The maniacal demon opened its mouth, its black tentacle lashing out at Haku. Without so much as raising a finger, just as it was inches away from his face, it stopped midair. The demon looked confused but just before it could attack again, a strong gust of wind threw it backwards. The demon struggled to maintain its standing position at the force of his power.

"Who is this brother of yours, exactly?" Haku looked bored, which only seemed to infuriate the demon even more.

"He… His name is Koga! The one you killed… just a week ago… for no good reason! You will pay and I will make you suffer!"

The name seemed to ring a bell. Images from his memory flashed through his mind. Women, men and children all lay in thick pools of blood on the deserted streets. Foam and pus oozed out of their mouths, indicating that they'd been severely poisoned. The smell was overpowering and he resisted the urge to cover his nose from the violation of the disgusting scents.

The bodies lay there in silence, unmoving. He had been assigned to that mission alone because the Council knew his strength and trusted he was capable of handling it well.

Seeing the various expressions of terror and sadness frozen on their faces, his blood boiled. The fact that they had been _poisoned_ had not scored any points with him either.

Haku gritted his teeth and glared murderously at the demon before him. "He was dabbling in black magic and because of that went on a rampage stealing the lives of innocent spirits! And you say I killed him for no good reason? The dark energy was killing him and had taken over his mind. And now you're walking in his footsteps, hysteria taking over you!"

"No! You're wrong! Onii-tan was ridding this world of the unsightly spirits! He was doing it all for the sake of justice!"

Oh, that did it. Haku's lid blew.

"I despise insolent spirits like you who are either too stupid or stubborn to realize your mistakes, and then try to cover up for your misdeeds in the name of justice. I see you have taken a number of lives from other spirits as well. You have some answering to do to the Shugorei Council."

As soon as he was done, Haku summoned the wind spirits and with his hands outstretched towards the demon, shot strong gusts of wind toward it, slicing and cutting it severely. The demon howled in excruciating pain and attempted to get its acidic tentacles on the man but they were easily dodged.

The fight did not take long. In a matter of minutes, the demon had been defeated. As it tumbled to the ground in a large pool of blood, Haku floated in midair above it. The demon breathed heavily. It was clearly in a terrible condition after suffering the wrath of the dragon's anger.

"Any last words?" Haku growled.

Ragged breaths were all he could muster before suddenly chuckling darkly. "I see… I can't exact my revenge on you… but let's see… how you feel when… you lose someone dear to you!"

Its tentacles shot out with all the strength it could muster at the same time that Haku fully registered its words. With a look of pure horror on his face, he saw Chihiro standing out in the open beside the tree, color drained from her face as she saw the tentacles moving towards her.

For a moment, Haku thought he saw dark blue hair fluttering in the wind. Her beautifully designed kimono was stained with dirt, as was her face that was distorted with terror. _Sora._ The name echoed in his mind. _Sora._ Her laughter bubbled in his mind before morphing into a terrible scream. That was a scream he would never forget. Not in his lifetime, not ever.

His hands shot up to cover his ears from the horrible sound. It was then that he snapped back into reality and realized that the scream rightfully belonged to Chihiro.

"Chihiro!"

A gust of wind held the tentacles back just before they could touch her. Now livid and full of emotion, he sliced the tentacles into pieces mercilessly, ignoring the demon's shrill screaming till it died down and eventually resolved into nothing.

Pandemonium and chaos filled Chihiro's mind. She suddenly felt weak in the knees and fell backwards, falling like a heap of soft cotton on the ground. Her heart was beating too fast in her chest till it actually started to hurt.

Haku, panic-stricken, was by her side in an instant and cradled her in his arms, holding her tightly against him. He inspected her for any damage before taking a good look at her face. His hand came up to stroke her cheek gently.

"Are you hurt?"

No reply. Her face was literally frozen with shock.

"Chihiro, answer me."

"_Sora, answer me!"_

Still there was no reply.

"Chihiro!"

"_Sora!"_

"You're going to be alright…"

"_You're going to be alright..."_

He held her tightly against his body, tucking her head in the crook of his neck where she fit perfectly. _'Sora…'_ he thought painfully, _'I'm sorry…' _

He failed to protect her once. He was not going to make the same mistake again.

"Chihiro, come on, talk to me."

This time, thankfully, she must have heard him, and she sat up, looking straight in his eyes. They were filled with confusion and fear. "Haku..?" Her eyes sparkled and he could already smell the salty aroma of her tears that were about to fall.

"I'm here, you're alright now." He pulled her back against him, resting his chin on her head. "I'll protect you, so don't be scared."

As she began to sob into his clothes, he held her tighter, biting on his lip. It was taking a lot to maintain his composure. The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, but he did not release the pressure on his lip for fear of losing control. It was only when Chihiro took his hands in hers that he realized his hands had been shaking.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered, looking down and hiding her face.

What? What was she sorry for? There was nothing to feel apologetic for in any way at all. If anyone had to be sorry, it would be him for failing to protect her well enough. As a man, he'd failed in his duty to protect the woman he treasured dearly.

He raised his hand to wipe her tears away and held her cheek tenderly, eyes boring into hers. "Why are you saying sorry?"

"I… I'm of no use… I'm only a burden to you… I'm really sorry for what happened. It's no wonder you chose forget me—" The last sentence was nearly inaudible but still it did not escape the dragon's sensitive ears.

Without thinking, he tipped her chin up to face him and crashed his lips to hers before she could finish her sentence.

'_You're wrong. I remember, I remember you, Chihiro. You're the one who set me free; you're the one who gave me my name back. You're the one I fell in love with!'_ he all but screamed in his mind as his arms tightened around his precious human.

Her lips were so unbelievably soft, and hot from her fever. As if the heat was contagious, his body felt warmer by the second. Perhaps it would only be that moment that they could disregard the realities of their situations and be together. He would cherish that moment, for it would be the first and last time he would ever hold her in his arms that way.

"I'll protect you, always," he murmured before pulling her in for another kiss.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I'm screaming too. I can't believe they kissed either! And I'm the one writing this story! Ermahgah I am going crazy because of this couple. *squeals* I didn't want them to kiss, but I'm following my heart now and not my brain so yeah. KISS! :D Moral of the day: Follow your heart. This is so Mulan lol.

Sorry I took so long; my schedule has been packed and I've been having a hard time figuring out how to get this story to flow nicely without it being too rushed. (: And now I realize I'm going to have more trouble with the next chapter now aauuggghhhh…

By the way, I put in a quote from some random person I looked up because this chapter has so much drama. :DDD

So anyways, thank you to you great reviewees! ^~^

**Eliza272, ialiceiamagodness, LilyWhite13, Angelic Toaster, Hana no Kamisama, FreeHummingbird11, WhiteTiger246, Leeshyloo, michelle88222, Amanda Tran, fandomnerd12, Savvyzzzz the Awesome Ninja, EpicThunder101, Doreminfinite and Guest! **

I've really been encouraged by your reviews so thank you again! ^^ Hope you liked this chapter (: If you did, leave a review? Haha. :DDD

Amanda Tran: Ohnoes I hope your heart is feeling better now? ;)

Doreminfinite: Lol thank eeuu hahaha I'm really glad you like it! ^~^


	9. The Kaigo Shelter

The Wait: The Kaigo Shelter

Chihiro was too dazed to move. With the man's lips on hers turning her insides to mush, she simply couldn't think straight. All her brain could seem to register was his hands around her that made her feel warm and safe and his lips that were gently touching hers.

That was not supposed to happen. He was supposed to get mad at her, scold her for causing him trouble when the monster tried to attack her. He was supposed to be more than happy to get her out of the Spirit World and away from him forever. And she was supposed to leave for good, severing all ties with the people whom she'd met here, including him.

But no, apparently fate had other ideas. And here she was, in Haku's embrace and enjoying his kiss.

She must be dreaming, she thought wildly to herself. Haku was a stranger, as was she to him. He could not be kissing her right then and there; she must be hallucinating. Fevers often had weird effects on people and she'd heard many stories before, though not fully believing in them.

However, when migraine after migraine attacked her head making her wince, she was quick to realize that it was not a dream. Shock was the only thing that registered in her brain before she shoved the man away from her with all her might.

Her hands went up to her lips, like in the many dramas she'd watched and she felt the feeling of that kiss linger bitterly. A careless look at his hurt expression gripped her heart.

"I… I…" At a complete loss for words, she did the next best thing she could to avoid the incredibly awkward situation: Run.

Chihiro got up and ran towards the shelter of the oak trees, ignoring the fact that she was feeling lightheaded and nauseous. All that filled her mind was the kiss and Haku's hurt expression, his face, everything about him. And she wanted those thoughts out of her head immediately.

Not surprisingly, soon her lungs were screaming for air and she felt dizzier than ever before. Perhaps running hadn't been the correct choice, but she had too little time to think.

Without realizing, she had stumbled and placed her hand on the rough bark of a tree beside her to steady herself, getting a small cut from a splinter in the process. She breathed heavily, panting like there was no tomorrow.

Her vision slowly blurred and she found herself free-falling backwards. She landed on the dirt with a 'thud'. More pain seared through her head, but she did not even possess the slightest strength to lift her hands to add pressure to her temples.

And just like that, for the third time in the Spirit World, darkness engulfed her, except this time, she was happy to escape reality, even if it was just for a moment.

* * *

Chihiro found herself on the beach, her bare feet nestling themselves in the warm, moist sand. The sky was a brilliant marigold along with clouds dipped in pink, purple and orange. The calm waves of the sea splashed against the shore playfully, giving off a serene feeling.

At first she thought she was the only one in the vast space, till her eyes spotted the silhouettes of 3 figures standing side by side by the seashore. Their backs were facing her but they looked oddly familiar. It piqued her curiosity and she began to step toward them, the sound of waves getting louder with each step she took.

When she was a few meters away from them, her heart started beating faster. Were they strangers? Did she know them? Something told her that they were people that she knew, and just before she could begin to guess, one of them called her name. Her feet shuffled to a stop and she gasped as recognition seeped into her being.

She recognized that voice anywhere; that cheerful voice no matter how tired he actually was when he got home, no matter how much physical anguish he was going through.

Then, he turned around. Chihiro's jaw literally dropped, and for a moment, she was too dumbfounded to move. After thinking a little, she dismissed the whole setting as a dream, until he gestured for her to go over to him. Involuntarily, her legs started to move towards her father who was actually standing right before her, looking as if he'd never set foot in a hospital before. His face had a healthy glow to it, and his wide welcoming smile brought fresh tears to her eyes.

He held her at arm's length as she took hold of his wrinkled hands, touching them as if touching a priceless gem with care and awe. Unbelief was plain on her face as she never thought she'd ever get the chance to see him again. Embracing him enthusiastically, she inhaled his lemon mint smell. The smell seemed to trigger something in her tear ducts and automatically, tears flowed down her cheeks. They embraced each other tightly, and she felt his chest reverberate with joyful laughter, making her smile. She missed his contagious laughter very much.

"I've missed you, little puppy." She could imagine him smiling that broad, toothy grin of his that would make his eyes squeeze into small slits on his face.

"I've missed you too, Dad," she squeaked. More tears cascaded down her cheeks, effectively getting his cotton polo tee soaked. He'd always loved polo tees. Oh, the sweet memories.

But all too soon, he was pulling away from her. "Sorry my little girl, I have to go now."

Without a second's hesitation, he turned back and began walking towards the sea. "Wait, Dad! Where're you going? Don't leave me!" she cried. She tried to move, but her legs were frozen in place, and no matter how much strength she mustered to get her limbs moving, they simply wouldn't listen.

Now filled with frustrated tears, her pleas echoed after her dad's deaf ears, and in he went into the sea, completely submerged.

Just as she was about ready to go berserk, another voice came from beside her.

"Chihiro-chan?"

Her head whirled around to see a grown man looking to be her age smiling down at her with a childish grin. His jet black hair was tousled, and his eyes lit up like that of a child's, full of innocent happiness. "Hi…karu?" the name came to her mind and upon realization, her eyes widened.

"The one and only," he winked teasingly. "We haven't kept in touch for a long time, huh, Chihiro-chan? I've missed you a lot!"

"Really? But, I thought—"

"Yeah… that was just me being an idiot who wanted to save face after getting rejected. I just… I just didn't know how to face you after that, and I thought you didn't want to be friends anymore, so..."

"I'm sorry…"

"It's alright! Hey, look, I need to go now. I guess I'll see you around, huh! We should totally go out sometime!" With that, he walked straight into the waters, while she merely stared and watched in disbelief. What in the world was going on? She must be dreaming, and she hit her head, demanding to wake up immediately.

"Chihiro." The sound of that low, deep drawl made her heart leap into her throat and suddenly she found it hard to speak against her accelerating heart beat. Her mouth went dry as the last person remaining on the shore turned to gaze at her.

His long, emerald green hair, untied, danced beautifully in sync with the rhythmic patterns of the wind. Tucking his hair behind his ear and getting it out of his face, he made his way towards her slowly. She tried moving backwards but there was something controlling her legs and it definitely was not her. Her mouth felt like it had been sewn shut like what Yubaba had done before, her lips frozen in a thin line. Her only form of expression was through her eyes and they were probably screaming a fusion of fear, confusion, sadness and frustration at him.

"Chihiro," he called again. This time, her tongue and lips started moving on their own.

"Kohaku…"

His lips tugged up into a smirk and leaving a mere slit of air between their bodies, he leaned in closer. "I'll protect you," he murmured, before brushing his lips against hers, sending tingles down her spine as she shivered at his touch. He stepped closer and placed his hand on the small of her back to press her against him, making use of the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

Chihiro was bewildered. What in the world was going on with everyone? Why was Haku suddenly kissing her for no reason? But the voices in her heart were overpowering the sensible part of her and she ached to kiss him back as well.

But there went the moment, when he stepped away from her. This time, however, his cold mask was back on and emotionlessly, he gestured to the sea with his head. Before she could even wonder what he was trying to do, her enchanted legs obeyed his silent command and began making their way toward the waters.

The waters were now choppy and the waves crashed violently against the shore, aggressively daring her to walk in.

'_Stop! Stop this!'_ she screamed internally, unable to speak with her lips sealed tight.

She glanced behind to see Haku watching as she walked straight to her doom. There was not a trace of warmth in those deep trenches of emerald pools. _'I'll protect you,'_ his words echoed in the back of her mind.

Liar, she thought. He was a liar. Immense betrayal welled up in her and she felt her eyes water again, though her tears did not come. He broke his promise to her once, and even forgot about her while she was the foolish one to remain a loyal slave to the dragon. And now he was toying with her feelings again. She hated the feeling of being treated like a used toy, played with and then carelessly thrown aside, without so much as a thought for her feelings.

But still, she could not bring herself to hate him. Why, she wondered. His panic-stricken expression resurfaced in her mind when he rescued her from the monster and she couldn't help but sense strongly that there was something being hidden from her. However, the frustrating part was that she could not seem to place her finger on it.

She let out a quiet gasp as she felt the icy cold waters begin to swallow her legs. She could feel the freezing cold waters seep into her bones, and her tiny body trembled. The girl could not stop walking though. Her body had been possessed.

As her body gradually went in deeper and deeper, with her teeth chattering harder and harder, she turned around and saw Haku gone. The next thing she knew, she was underwater.

She held her breath, not wanting to get water in her nose which would hurt. Before long her lungs were screaming for air, her chest feeling like it was going to burst. It was painful, so unbearably painful. Her mouth opened in desperation and in return she got a mouthful of salty—

No, it was not salty. It was clear, like clean, potable water. Surprise filled her for a moment before quickly being replaced with agony.

Clean water or not, she was still drowning.

"Chihiro…"

What?

"Chihiro… it's me…"

The voice was crystal clear, its sound melodiously echoing throughout the waters. Opening her eyes slightly, she saw sparkly, clear waters all around her with her chestnut brown hair floating about.

"Chihiro…"

She recognized that voice somewhere. No, it couldn't be. It was impossible. How could it be that she would be in a similar position to the first time they had met?

A streak of brilliant white danced elegantly in the distance and she stared after it, the shape growing bigger and bigger until she saw it in its full size. The majestic beast was now standing before her, doing all sorts of acrobatic stunts in the water. It swooped under her body, hauling her up towards the surface where the bright light was as her fingers feebly wrapped themselves around one horn of his.

As they moved, she heard his voice repeating, _"Promise… promise… promise… Chihiro…"_

Waking up with a start, Chihiro sprung into a sitting position. A cold, wet cloth fell from her forehead onto the white blanket covering her. She moaned lightly, feeling like she was having a terrible hangover.

She touched her moist forehead and noticed her temperature had gone down significantly, miraculously. Looking around, she found herself on a bed in a foreign place. It was a simple and modest room, with smooth wooden floorboards that were polished and clean. Japanese-style sliding doors stood by the side of the room and she could hear murmurs outside, though there was no shadow indicating there to be anyone outside the door.

A desk and an armchair were placed on the right side of the room, with a small table lamp and a few piles of paper on it, neatly arranged. A quill and pot of ink was by the corner of the desk. The huge window was just behind the desk and she noticed the clear skies, though spotting a couple of dark streaks in the clouds far into the distance.

The landscape was quite beautiful, with a large field just below the window. She noticed some distinct spots of colors on the tall grass and assumed them to be wild flowers, though unable to see very clearly. She noticed people taking walks and spending time together in the peaceful time of the day. But then, upon taking a closer look, those 'people' looked different and then it dawned on her that she was still in the spirit world, hence explaining the strange creatures here and there.

Turning her attention back to the rest of the room, she continued exploring it with her curious eyes. The walls of the room were the shade of a light cream with no design whatsoever on it, and there was a clock hanging on the wall above a bookshelf that was filled with books and other miscellaneous items. It was just opposite the bed she was in that lay smack dab in the middle of the room.

The salty smell of saltwater tickled her nostrils and she shuddered at the momentary recollection of that peculiar dream she just had. It smelled rather familiar, though no one in particular came to mind.

A wooden closet to her left had a full length mirror on it and she gasped at her reflection. Her hat was still on her head, thank goodness, though its cream color was slightly stained with dirt. She frowned. She'd have to wash that when she got back while finding another one to wear in the meantime. Her face was as pale as usual, so no surprise there.

However, she was not wearing her clothes anymore, and instead she was wearing a loose cotton top that was obviously way too big for her. She also had on a pair of sweats that were also slipping off her waist.

Where had her clothes gone? But more importantly, who had changed her clothes for her? The thought of some stranger stripping her of her clothes terrified the conservative woman.

Her hands groped around the sheets and she wondered where on earth she could be. Had she been abducted by someone? No, that was not possible; she should have been in ropes and gagged if that were the case. Then why wasn't she at the hospital?

And then everything came back to her.

Flying off from the bathhouse. The demon. Kissing Haku.

Her cheeks flushed at the recollection. Her fingers, just as before, touched her lips that had been kissed by Haku. What on earth went through his mind, she could not comprehend. He was such a mysterious man.

But then again, that was how he had always been, she thought with a little smile to herself.

Seeing as there was no one else in the room, she took the chance to quietly get the warm covers off of her and felt her bare feet touch the cool floor. She smiled, feeling oddly thrilled just like a child exploring the wonders of a treasure cove.

Not daring enough to go outside, she kept her little expedition to the confines of the room. She set the cloth on the dresser beside the bed and walked toward the desk, her fingers touching the smooth surface of it.

Chihiro remembered how she used to prance about in her father's study while he was working when she wanted him to play with her or to tell him something interesting that had happened in school. She still remembered how worked up he had gotten when she mentioned a boy had confessed to her and laughed through her nose. Those were the good times, now stored as rusty old memories in her storeroom of a mind.

Not wanting to touch the papers for fear of invading the host's privacy, she kept her hands to herself and walked around, exploring the room from corner to corner. The bookshelf was full of books, some old and tattered, while others were brand new with polished covers. She tried to read the words but they were incomprehensible; they were probably written in some spirit language of theirs.

Looking at the miscellaneous items on the bookshelf, she noticed a very exquisite box lying in the corner of it, and it was half-opened. Someone must have opened it not too long ago. Interest perked up in her and before she could restrain herself, she had opened the little gift box carefully, revealing a pretty gemstone.

It had been masterfully carved and it felt smooth against her index finger which stroked it lightly. The gem had a dark green glow to it, reminding her of Haku's eyes. In the center though, it was a light, sweet pink color with streaks of brown throughout the stone, reminding her of a watermelon.

"You shouldn't be touching that."

Chihiro jumped up in shock, and flushing, hurriedly placed it back in its original position to face the owner of the voice.

Standing in front of the now closed door, was a man looking to be about Haku's age. He had messy golden hair and teasing amber eyes. His high cheekbones had a rosy, healthy pink tint to them and his crooked grin was rather charming, she had to admit. He was clad in a casual bright orange button up top. Its sleeves were folded up and he had on a pair of black pants with an elaborate design of the flames of a fire at the side to go with the outfit. His black shoes had a little dirt on them though, looking a little out of place with his clean attire.

"W-Who are you?" she stuttered, getting extra nervous since she had been rather rude, touching things that did not belong to her.

His smirk grew wider. "Hi, I'm Koushou, but you can call me Shou."

She nodded and smiled hesitantly. "I'm—"

"Chihiro?" he cut in, grinning even wider when he saw the startled look on her face. She wondered if his mouth would tear from smiling so much.

"How do you know my name?"

"Haku only has one human girlfriend, so…"

Her cheeks flamed. "I'm not his girlfriend!" she exclaimed indignantly.

He smirked at her oddly quick reply. "You're cute when you get defensive."

That only made her face redden even more. He laughed at her reaction.

"I'm guessing you've got some questions about where you are now?"

She nodded. "What is this place?"

"You, my dear," he announced grandly, "are in the Kaigo Shelter!"

Now she got even more confused. "The Kaigo Shelter?" she echoed.

"Yeah, it's this shelter run by a group of us spirits who provide free care for lost spirits! Haku's the founder," he added with a suggestive wink.

Chihiro looked away, finding herself shying away from his gaze. "Umm… What are lost spirits?"

"Lost spirits like us are spirits who have lost our identities, or don't remember anything of our past."

Yubaba came to mind and sadness was all Chihiro could feel for a moment, recalling how much suffering Haku had had to go through because he had lost his name to the witch.

"So Haku founded this shelter after he quit being Yubaba's apprentice?"

"You got it."

Depression dusted her features. So he did quit, after all. But why didn't he go to see her, since he obviously had the freedom to do so?

Maybe he had a reason for it, she tried persuading herself. That would be something more comforting to believe in.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable or anything?"

She looked up to see Shou now standing in front of her with a concerned expression on his face. Shaking her head with a sigh, she forced a tiny smile.

"I'm fine. So, what is this room, exactly?"

"It's Haku's room."

Her eyes widened in slight shock. That was Haku's room? She looked around again. She'd heard that one could tell a person's personality from how their bedroom looked like. And it would explain the smell lingering in the room as well.

She gestured to the clothes over her naked body. "Whose…"

"They're Haku's clothes." A smirk played on his lips at her reaction again. Blushing furiously now, she was almost afraid to ask the next question.

"W-Who changed me into this..?"

"Why, it was none other than _Haku_!" he exclaimed happily.

Chihiro, on the other hand, felt like a couple of stones had just been hurled at her with great force. What had he seen? She began to panic. Just the mere thought of him changing her clothes for her brought her nervousness and panic to a whole new level. Before she knew it, her breaths were becoming shorter and shorter, much to Shou's shock.

"Ah! Are you alright, Chihiro? I didn't mean to scare you there, I was just kidding!"

He helped her to her bed where her eyes were huge, still frozen with terror. Apparently his words just fell on deaf ears. "Chihiro, I was kidding, really, I'm sorry," he repeatedly, shaking her lightly.

Eventually she got out of her trance and faced him. "He really didn't..?"

"No, sorry, I just wanted to tease you a little, but I didn't intend for you to get all scared," he answered ruefully.

Chihiro heaved a big sigh of relief. "Okay, good. So who helped me into my clothes anyway?"

"Sakura. She's another female spirit who works around here as well."

"Mm…" Chihiro hummed, staring into blank space. That was one of her burning questions answered. Now there were about… ninety-nine more to go.

Why was she in Haku's room? Why hadn't she gone back home yet? Why did Haku leave her here?

"You look like you have a thousand things on your mind," Shou commented thoughtfully, scrutinizing her expression.

"I was just thinking… I've got some questions to ask Haku. Where is he?"

"Oh, him? I think he hasn't come back from his fly."

"Fly?"

Shou shrugged. "It's just his way of de-stressing, I suppose. He hasn't got a lot of time to get things off of his mind; he's way too busy. I don't even get a lot of chances to annoy him anymore." His lips turned into a little pout and Chihiro couldn't help but smile at his antics.

He noticed this and grinned mischievously. "Well, he should be back anytime now. So in the meantime, while waiting for him…"

Suddenly, he pinned her down on the bed, his face hovering close above hers. "Hold still…"

"What?" she squirmed under him but was held firmly down by his muscular arms.

"Anytime now… 3… 2… 1…" he counted under his breath with a quiet chuckle.

Immediately after he counted to 1, the door slid open, and Chihiro heard a sigh as someone closed the door, before the calm footsteps quite abruptly evolved into angry stomping. Before she knew it, Shou had been dragged off of her, revealing a rather pissed off Haku grabbing his friend by the collar.

"Did he try anything on you?" Haku asked in a hard tone.

It took a second for her to register that he was talking to her. "N-No…"

"Haku! You're back!" The man exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with a sparkle.

"What are you doing here? Stop being a nuisance and get out."

"Ouch… you really know how to treat your best friend well…"

"Stop bothering me, Shou."

"But… but… I thought… we had something special… together..." he sniffled quite realistically and grabbed a bewildered Haku into a bone-crushing embrace. Chihiro could have sworn she heard a crack or two.

"Get off me," Haku snapped and wrestled his way out of Shou's arms.

"Well, good riddance," he harrumphed, before marching right up to Chihiro. "Since I finally got rid of him, I'm available, and you are too, why not—"

"Get out." And just like that, Shou was thrown out of the room by an exasperated Haku while Chihiro sat on the bed and giggled.

He stared at her quizzically and she smiled back at him before her smile quickly faded into a rueful, thin line. He cleared his throat a little. Things were getting awkward quite quickly. Suddenly she wished Shou was back in the room again.

"I—" Both of them said at the same time.

Looking embarrassed, Haku motioned for her to start first.

"I, uh, why am I here? Why aren't I back in the human world?"

"You fainted," he stated as if it were obvious.

"But I thought you would have sent me back to the hospital in that case?"

"I didn't…" he mumbled something incoherent under his breath and she strained to hear it.

"What?"

"I didn't… know how to get there…" he turned so that his back was facing her, looking down.

"O-Oh…" was all she could say in response. That was quite the interesting answer.

"So, what did you want to say?" she started.

A moment of silence passed between them as Haku cleared his throat rather uncomfortably. Turning around, he hung his head low, his long hair shielding his eyes. His hair was still tied back in a loose ponytail, except that it was quite messy. He must not have had time to tie it back properly after his fly. His clothes were also slightly crinkled, but still looked ever presentable.

"A-About earlier…"

Puzzled, she asked, "Earlier? What happened earlier?"

"The… kiss…"

A light pink color filled their faces simultaneously. "O-Oh… that… W-What about it?" she stammered nervously.

Not daring to look at him anymore, she focused on an interesting spot on the floor. "I'm sorry about that. I wasn't thinking properly."

"It's okay. Are you alright? You seemed pretty… out of it earlier."

"I'm quite alright."

"So… would you like a tour of the Kaigo Shelter?" he offered.

She perked up at that, glad for an ice breaker. Gazing at his sincere face, she smiled. "That'd be great."

"Can I come too?" Shou burst through the door with a childishly eager face.

"No," Haku scowled at the same time that Chihiro answered, "Why not?"

Haku gave her a look that she did not understand while Shou bounded his way over to Chihiro's side. "Yay! Let's go, Chihiro-chan!" he said in a sing-song voice, hooking his arm with hers and pulling her along out the door. At the same time, she heard an exasperated sigh coming from behind her.

Things were going to get quite interesting, she could tell.

* * *

A/N: Extra long update. Teehee~

Sorry I think this story has quite a lot of plot in it so far, but don't worry! The nice sweet chapters with lotsa fluff shall come soon ;) Uhmm… btw, I changed Miru's name to Koushou, (if you don't know who that is, it's the dude Haku left in charge of the shelter while he went to visit Lin and Kamaji—Chapter 6). I apologize if you guys got confused or anything haha.

I think Koushou's gonna be my favorite character, save for the couple. Tell me what your impression of him is? :D I think he's cute. (:

So regarding my updates… Well. I have an outline of my schedule for the next 3 weeks and honestly, it's not very pretty. I still write in my free time though. To be honest, I get distracted from my work by writing. Hahaha. So anyways, I can't guarantee the next chapter to be within the next 2 weeks, but I'm definitely gonna try my best! Thanks for your patience so far and don't worry about me not updating; chillax haha I'm working on it! ;)

Okay, thank you to you great reviewees for reviewing the previous chapter:

**EpicThunder101, Guest, Leeshyloo, Ialiceiamagodness, fandomnerd12, Pale-Face, Scarlet Ammo 19, Eliza272, Poppi, FreeHummingBird11, Hana no Kamisama, toshirofan4ever, Sereenalovesanime, Anonymous Guest, Abcdefg824 **and** Amanda Tran!** ^~^

Guest, Poppi & Abcdefg824: Hope you guys liked the update! ^~^

Anonymous Guest: Aww yay thanks bro! ;) I'm really glad you like this story so far :D

Amanda Tran: LOL YOU CAN'T DIE YET THIS STORY IS FAR FROM OVERRRR!


	10. Playing With Fire

The Wait: Playing With Fire

"The Kaigo Shelter is 3 levels high, and these are some of the rooms that we provide for the spirits putting up here," Shou continued, pointing to several open rooms and waving cheerfully to some of the spirits in there. Chihiro noticed with faint interest the young female spirits waving and giggling flirtatiously at them, though unable to discern who exactly they were waving to. Some of them were wrinkling their noses though, like there was something disgusting smelling in the air.

Chihiro grimaced. So her smell had yet to go away. Where was the deodorant when she needed it?

The trio stepped into one of the rooms and she saw that it was a well furnished place to live in. The walls were the same cream color and there were 3 beds lying in the middle of the room for the 3 spirits living in there. Some of the furniture was different from Haku's, but everything was more or less the same.

Now that was a pleasant surprise. A smile played on Chihiro's lips. She recalled how Yubaba would treat her workers with an air of superiority. The dorm that she had lived in along with Lin and the other female workers was extremely cramped and there was barely enough space to fit everyone. Her office, on the other hand, was lavish and spacious, clearly exhibiting the kind of employer she was.

Or how she used to be, Chihiro corrected herself. She still couldn't find it in her to believe in Kamaji's words.

But this was a stark contrast to the kind of person Haku was. Even though he had a room to himself, it was much smaller than the others' and the designs of the rooms all looked similar to each other.

Haku was probably a born leader. From what she could see, he treated everyone fairly and everyone seemed rather satisfied under him.

"What're you thinking about?" Her eyes snapped up to see that Shou had squatted down to her eye level and was grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat.

"Nothing," she lied, shying away from his gaze.

"Oh, it's something alright! Spill!" he exclaimed in a girly voice.

"I-It's really nothing."

"Come now, don't be shy," he insisted, nudging her playfully.

"Stop wasting our time, Shou. Move it," Haku said gruffly from behind the two.

"Patience is a virtue, dear Haku," he winked back before turning to Chihiro and continuing with the tour.

"I know you're thinking that Haku's a good leader, aren't you?" he whispered so only she could hear.

"Huh?!" Chihiro sucked in a sharp breath, much to Shou's delight.

"I knew it!" He jumped for joy quite literally and she thought she heard a warning growl from the irritated dragon behind them.

"How did you know?"

"I read minds," he winked cutely while her eyes widened considerably.

"You do?"

"No, he doesn't," Haku replied at the same time that Shou said "Of course!"

"Aw, you just have to ruin all the fun," Shou pouted.

"I wouldn't call tricking others fun, Shou."

Shou shrugged. "It's just teasing."

"What's that?" Chihiro had run up to the railings of the long corridor, pointing to the water body in the distance, obviously not paying any attention to the bickering pair.

"It's a river," the blonde smiled, and nodded in Haku's direction discreetly. "It's our source of water, but it's also where Haku practices his magic and training when he's not on Shugorei training grounds."

"I've heard about this Shugorei before… so they're this group of spirits responsible for the Spirit Realm's welfare?"

"Pretty much, you just forgot the cliché part where they 'fight crime for justice' and 'rid the world of all villainy', blah blah."

Chihiro giggled which seemed to make him happy. They were about to continue with the tour when Haku cut in. "Sorry, I need to go sort out something urgent. I'll leave her to you," he nodded to Shou who smiled and waved him goodbye.

"Later!"

Chihiro raised her hand to wave goodbye but he had already turned around and was walking back down the hallway before disappearing around the corner.

Dejectedly, she put her hand down. Nothing had changed between after them, after all, she thought forlornly.

"Ignore him, he's not in a good mood today," Shou patted her shoulder reassuringly.

She could only manage a miserable attempt at a smile before he went on with the tour.

Making their way down the stairs to the ground floor, they came to a stop in front of the sparse field. Spirits of all kinds were there. Some of them looked just like any other regular human, while others, she noticed, looked strangely similar to cats, wolves and other animals. Others were just plain unrecognizable though.

Some couples were sitting on benches, having a romantic time alone while other older ones rested. The younger spirits were having fun doing all sorts of athletic sports and games. Laughter filled the area. Chihiro could not exactly identify the games that they were playing, however.

"This is where we have our recreational activities; the kids love it here."

"I take it you love it too, then?"

"Hey, I'm not a kid," he made a face and she grinned. Score one for Chihiro! Finally!

"What kinds of spirits live here?" she asked with great wonder.

"All kinds, actually. There are cat spirits, wolf spirits, weasel spirits. You name it, there'll be one here."

"So what kind of spirit are you?"

"I'm a phoenix spirit," he answered proudly, puffing out his chest for an added effect.

"Wow, that's really cool," the corners of her lips tugged up into a coy smile.

One was a fearsome dragon, and the other was a majestic phoenix. The two friends really were quite interesting. She wondered what kind of magical powers he had.

"So what kind of powers do you have? Other than mind-reading," she added with a roll of her eyes.

Shou gestured to the flame print on his pants. "Fire."

"I see. That's really cool."

"Cooler than Haku?"

She paused, not knowing what to say and made a face at him. "I-I don't…"

"So he's still cooler than me…" he sighed dejectedly, raking his hand through his hair, "Guess I'll never beat him…"

"I never said he was cooler than you!" Chihiro frowned in defense. She felt her cheeks heat up a little.

"So I'm cooler than him then?" There was no end to his teasing, she realized with much defeat.

Ignoring him, she turned around and stalked off back into the building without waiting for the man.

"Hey, come on, you're not angry, are you? I was just teasing."

Trying hard to keep her face blank, she continually ignored him. She was definitely going to have her revenge.

"I know what you're thinking," he suddenly said with a sly smile on his face.

She stopped and turned to look at him, puzzled. He really knew what was on her mind?

"You're trying to get revenge on me for teasing you, aren't you?"

Her eyes all but betrayed her and he grinned smugly. "I told you I can read minds."

Now Chihiro doubted Haku's words. Maybe Shou really was psychic. Keeping her lips in a thin line, she walked away in a huff while he laughed from behind her, catching up easily with long strides.

"Are you hungry?" he asked out of the blue.

"Pardon?"

"Are you hungry?" he repeated.

She shook her head at the same time her stomach comically made a weird groaning noise. She smiled sheepishly while he shook his head, smirking.

"How did you know the kitchen was this way?"

Surprised, she replied, "I didn't know. I was just walking."

He muttered something that sounded like "sixth senses" before leading her down the new corridor to a large wooden door. Some steam was escaping rather conspicuously from under it and for a second it reminded her of the boiler room.

A brief feeling of sadness washed over her; she already missed them.

"You haven't eaten ever since you got here so you must be starved. I'll get some food for the both of us. It's lunchtime anyway."

Chihiro smiled sweetly back at him. "Sounds great."

* * *

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not."

"You have to be! How… how do you eat this?!"

"O fair lady, in case you have forgotten, I'm a spirit."

"But I'm a human! Isn't there anything more human to eat here?"

"Well…"

She slapped him hard on the arm, earning a surprised yelp from him. "Ow! What'd you do that for?"

"Stop teasing me!"

"Since when was I teasing you?"

"You're making me feel grossed out on purpose, aren't you?"

Shou managed a sly smile before swiftly and narrowly dodging another of her hits. "Sorry, but your reactions are too cute."

Glowering at him, she looked back at the 'food' before going green again. "I think I'm going to be sick…"

The food that Shou had given her consisted of roasted slimy creatures such as toads and mudskippers. He definitely had mind-reading powers; how could he be so spot on about the things that she hated the most?

"Okay, okay," he sighed and led her out of the kitchen, "I've got the food all prepared in your room already."

She stopped. "When did you do it?"

"While you were busy screaming and running all over the place."

Chihiro scowled at him. "I was not screaming or running."

"Yes, you were."

"No!"

The next thing Shou did, being the annoying person he was, was run everywhere around the kitchen, avoiding the plates and baskets of food placed here and there and screaming his head off wildly in a high-pitched voice in poor imitation of the girl.

"I do not sound like that!" Chihiro cried, but despite herself, she couldn't suppress the huge grin that was creeping up her face.

"Sure you don't."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes at him, "can we go? I'm getting hungry, and getting a sick person hungry isn't good."

"Alright, alright. Let's go. Whiny women…"

"Annoying men," she shot back. He teasingly scowled at her and she rolled her eyes at him.

After making a couple of left and right turns and going up the stairs to the second floor, Shou opened the last door down the corridor. "This is where you'll be staying for the time being. It's unused, so you get a big room to yourself."

The room was more or less the same as the others save for the extra furniture and items that had been placed around to decorate the room in everyone else's rooms. It was quite cozy and Chihiro couldn't have asked for more hospitality and generosity.

"Thank you so much!" she breathed.

"Don't thank me; thank Haku. He was the one who arranged this."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "He did?"

Shou frowned. "Why do you seem so surprised?"

"I don't know… he seems to hate me…"

"He seems to hate everyone, like me, but deep down he's actually a really nice guy."

"That's because it's you. But me on the other hand…"

"Haku does care for you, you know."

Chihiro looked to him sharply. "What?"

"I mean, he cares for everyone the same. He's all bark and no bite, trust me."

"Y-Yeah…" she agreed softly, albeit a little disappointed.

"Our food's on the table. And no worries; they're human enough for you."

That seemed like a good topic to take Chihiro's mind off of things. "Good," she smiled, at the same time that her stomach groaned even louder than before.

While they indulged in the food heartily, Shou began telling her all sorts of stories about the bathhouse, including some hilarious ones like how one of the cat spirits who wanted to seduce Haku eventually ended up getting all soaked and angry. He, too, had a great number of ardent admirers, and he took immense pleasure in bragging about it too.

"So you see, my dear, it's an honor to be dining with yours truly, the great Koushou!"

She chuckled. "The pleasure's all mine."

"Oh no, the pleasure is mine. I have never dined with such a beautiful, exquisite human before. I think I'm going to faint from happiness."

Chihiro snorted rather unceremoniously at that. "I'm the only human you've ever met."

"Maybe, but you're still one of the few women I actually compliment and think so highly of," he winked flirtatiously.

"Sorry, you're not my type," she responded curtly.

"Ouch," he clutched in chest, faking a literal heartache, "It's no fair! Haku always gets the girls!"

Chihiro choked on her water. She began to cough violently and tears filled her eyes while her cheeks grew hot.

"Whoa, take it easy, Chihiro."

"I don't like him!"

"I'm a mind reader," he reminded.

"No you're not. Haku said—"

"Haku's back in the conversation! You, my dear, are in love!" he sang.

"No, I'm not!" she argued agitatedly, face growing redder by the second, though whether from frustration or embarrassment, she wasn't sure.

"Chihiro's in denial!"

"No she's not! Stupid Shou!" she kicked him under the table but he did not react in any way. Instead, it actually seemed to make him even happier.

"Feisty… I like." Suddenly he leaned closer to her across the table, cornering her in her chair.

Chihiro's next words caught in her throat and her mouth hung open. Realizing how foolish she looked, she shut it immediately, staring at Shou's burning amber eyes with puzzlement before looking away.

"You're actually pretty cute… I wonder if Haku will get mad if I kiss you?"

"What?" she blurted, her face turning even pinker.

Without answering, he leaned his face closer to hers and squeezing her eyes shut as if everything would go back to normal after counting to ten, something warm and soft touched her lips.

Her eyes shot open in surprise and froze when she saw Shou standing up with his index and middle finger to her lips. He was clearly trying very hard not to laugh, and when he saw her open her eyes, he burst out into hysterical laughter.

Extremely embarrassed, a tomato-faced Chihiro stomped on his foot hard. "Ouch!" he cried.

"You're a horrible person, Shou!"

"I'm sorry… it's just—"

"My reactions are too cute…" she deadpanned, shooting daggers at the man clutching his stomach.

"Oh I'm going to get 8 packs after this…"

She fumed and sat on the bed, glaring at the laughing fool from where she was. He rolled around on the floor like a slug, making her feel like stepping on and kicking him a few times more, just so she could cool down. Her face was still a beet red, though relieved that nothing had happened or things would have become majorly awkward. Things just escalated way too quickly for comfort. Was it a habit here in the Spirit Realm?

And what was with male spirits and kissing her, exactly?

Eventually, Shou got over his laughing fit and Chihiro's face had gotten back its normal color. He sat on a chair facing Chihiro who was sitting on the bed. The room was finally quiet and comfortably peaceful.

"Do you have any more questions to ask? About your current predicament, I mean," he started, interlacing his fingers together and leaning forward in his chair.

"Yes," she nodded slowly, going through all the things that she wanted to ask. She decided it would be too much to bombard the man with, hence she only asked the important questions.

"When exactly do I leave this place and go back home?"

"I'm not so sure about that… You'd have to ask Haku. I'm guessing it would after you recover properly to handle a ride back to the entrance."

She made a face. Haku could have brought her back home. His answer about not knowing the directions to the hospital was particularly weird; he could have just waited for her to wake up instead of bringing her all the way to the shelter which would just mean a longer and more agonizing trip back to the tunnel.

Maybe it was just his way of thinking?

"What's on your mind?"

She smirked. "You shouldn't have to ask; you're a mind reader, aren't you?"

"My brain…" he patted his head lightly, "seems to be a little dysfunctional at the moment. Care to enlighten me?"

'_It must have always been dysfunctional…'_ she thought to herself, suppressing a chuckle. "I'm just wondering why Haku didn't bring me back to the tunnel. He could have done that instead of bringing me all the way here; I mean, it's just going to be more cumbersome to bring me back to the tunnel, especially in my condition…"

"What condition?"

Chihiro stopped short, nearly forgetting that neither he nor Haku knew about her illness. She looked at Shou who was staring intently at her, awaiting her reply. After a little internal debate with herself, she decided not to divulge that piece of information. He was Haku's close friend, after all. He just might tell Haku which would be extremely unnecessary.

"My fever, of course."

"You're a horrible liar, Chihiro."

Her fake smile dropped instantly. "Really?"

"Yes," he grinned. "Now tell me, what's that condition of yours exactly?"

"My lips are sealed." She mimicked zipping her lips and throwing away the key, sealing it tightly.

He narrowed his eyes at her, but chose not to pry further. "Anyway, back to your earlier question, what was Haku's reason for not bringing you back?"

"He… he said that he did not know the directions to the ho—to my home."

He looked at her blankly and she wondered if he had heard her right. Just before she could open her mouth though, he suddenly snorted rather loudly.

"He's lying. You two are such bad liars," he smirked triumphantly.

"He's lying? How so?" she leaned forward in anticipation.

"That's just an excuse. It's true that he doesn't know the directions to your home, but he could have easily used a navigation spell to find out where it is. Granted, it's harder to use magic in the human world, but for a skillful dragon like him, it would have been a piece of cake."

"So what are you implying?" she cocked an eyebrow at him.

That's when his smirk grew wider, making her feel a little wary of his response. "It's a very simple deduction, actually. Obviously, Haku's using this fever of yours as an excuse for you to stay longer here."

It took a while for what Shou said to sink into her completely. Then she did a double-take. "He what?"

"He's using this as an excuse for you to stay longer here."

"I don't believe you."

He frowned. "Why not?"

"That's impossible," she deadpanned.

"Why would it be impossible? Have you forgotten? I'm _the_ mind reader!" he exclaimed dramatically.

"Either you're a bad mind reader or Haku just concealed his thoughts very well. That's impossible; why would he want me to stay here? I'm a pesky, foul-smelling human, aren't I?"

Shou shook his head, suddenly growing serious. "No, you're not."

"What are you talking about? I saw other spirits turning their noses up at me because of the smell."

"Most of the smell has gone already; you've been sufficiently eating the food of this world."

"Really?" she asked in disbelief, scratching her head almost comically.

The man sighed and raked his fingers through his ruffled hair. "If it's them wrinkling their noses, it's probably one of the young cub spirits leaving their crap around randomly again. You are hopelessly clueless…"

"W-What?"

"Nothing, just know that it's better if you stay a tad longer in this world."

"Why would it be better?"

"Work those brains of yours and figure it out," he winked. Clearly, that was the end of their conversation.

* * *

A/N: Like Shou even better now? *High-fives myself* Me too! :D I had originally planned for some plot in this (yes, there would have been a cliffhanger here) but then I decided that this story could just take it easy and go nice and slow. And you guys got to know Shou even better through this hehe. As for the title… I'll come up with something better, but I figured you'd want the update first so.

Just saying, I was inspired to add Shou in after reading **A Proscriptive Relationship** and **A Surreptitious Relationship** (Wattpad stories) by **XxSkaterGirl16xX** (Wattpad author). He's something like a Jeremy (the 'Shou' dude in those stories) and I added him in mainly because this story is going to be kind of sad in future chapters so he's here to lighten things up. (:

Read those stories if you haven't! They're really, really good! ^~^

Oh and one more thing (this is such a looonnngg author's note…).

Ermahbarf. You. Guys. Are. Just. So. Freaking. Amazing. A HUNDRED REVIEWS?! DUDE! My mind just got blown into pieces. :O Thank you so much for reviewing and supporting this story and I'm really glad you like it so far! I really, truly appreciate your support, and oh, what can I say? I LOVE YOU PEOPLE I COULD DIE! (maybe not)

So thank you to my great reviewees who helped pull this thing up to 100:

**Ialiceiamagodness, Angelic Toaster, loveghibli, Abcdefg824, DANG0S, EpicThunder101, Sereenalovesanime, toshirofan4ever, fandomnerd12, Savvyzzzz the Awesome Ninja, FreeHummingbird11, cannabol corncob **and **Guest!**

Cookies and love to all! Thanks and leave a review please? (: I just love hearing from you peeps tehehe~

Abcdefg824: Thanks dear! (: Really appreciate your support haha.

DANG0S: Yeap ): haha maybe? This ending may have a little twist… ;)

Cannabol corncob: Omg all in one night? :O you need to sleep! But thanks so much for your support haha I'm flattered. ;)

Guest: Lol actually I never really thought it could be jealousy but yeah that works too ;) It's up to your interpretation haha.


	11. Betrayal

The Wait: Betrayal

Chihiro lay on the warm woolen blanket, fiddling about with her fingers. Shou had just left, saying that he was supposed to help out with the mealtime period. She had wanted to tag along, but to her slight disappointment, had been declined very politely by him. His reason was that having her around would probably result in brouhaha by the older spirits. Apparently, the more traditional spirits tended to be more prejudiced against humans, and they weren't afraid to openly discriminate against her. That would also explain the ruckus at the bathhouse when she first came too.

"What should I do…" she mumbled to herself. Idly lying around was killing her; she wanted to do something and not waste good time. But truth be told, she was getting a little tired, as usual. Taking a nap did sound tempting, but she was still not exactly comfortable with making herself at home in a foreign place. It felt rather awkward, especially so because of the fact that Haku was being strangely nice to her.

She couldn't help but question his motives. That man was so secretive and mysterious; one moment he was a cold and the next he was a saint. Was it her, or did that not make any sense?

And why did he still keep that two-faced mask of his? Either he had bipolar disorder or he was just plain evil. She would have preferred him to let her see the last of that sweet boy from before, even if it wasn't genuine. At least her impression of the Spirit World wouldn't be tainted—that was too mild a word to even begin to describe her current impression of Haku.

What could have happened to Haku to make him change so much ever since she left?

Wait, what was she talking about? It wasn't as if she had gotten to know him very well in that period of time, so who was she to say that he had changed in the first place?

Chihiro sighed deeply and flipped over so that she was lying flat on her stomach with her chin resting on her arms. "So many thoughts…" she muttered before hitting her head against the soft cream sheets. She inhaled the smell of detergent and a strong sense of nostalgia swept over her. It faintly smelled like the detergent her mom used to wash their clothes.

Lemon.

"You're officially homesick," the girl declared miserably.

Out of the blue, muffled footsteps could be heard from outside and thinking it was Shou, Chihiro got up and walked to the door. She was about to turn the doorknob when it was opened quite roughly by someone and before she could react in the slightest, the sharp side of the oak door slammed right into her face.

"Ouch!" she cried, stumbling backwards while rubbing her poor nose and forehead. There was a stinging pain lingering and she was pretty certain that her nose had been broken. That was also going to leave an ugly bruise on her forehead for sure.

"There's someone in here too?" a female voice asked.

"Yes, she's staying here temporarily though." That sounded strangely like Haku. Chihiro opened her eyes and took in the pair who had just arrived. A girl with big, round red eyes glared at her menacingly, with a very hostile aura surrounding her. Her wet and long raven black hair flowed neatly down her back, making the clean white top she was wearing damp. She was quite beautiful, with her prominent nose and very shapely body, if one would excuse her eyes.

Her red eyes reminded Chihiro of those vampires she used to read in those sappy romance novels she used to love—she had grown out of them—and for a second there she wondered if vampires did actually exist.

There was a pause before the girl's full pink lips parted and in a metallic voice dripping with venom, asked, "What's a human doing here?"

Chihiro shrank back a little, hoping there wouldn't be a murder happening anytime soon. She looked at Haku expectantly who looked absolutely unfazed and blank as usual. Had he brought her here just so that her blood could be sucked out by this crazed spirit who seemed to hate humans to the core?

"She's staying here temporarily," he repeated calmly.

Before Chihiro could stop herself, her lips took on a life of their own and questioned, "Sorry, but who is this?"

"She's your new roommate," came his simple reply.

* * *

"Shou, can you fly?"

Shou gave her an odd look, nodding slowly. "Yes?"

"Bring me home. Now."

He leaned forward in his seat, the girl having gotten his attention. "What's the hurry, love?"

"My new roommate's going to kill me."

"New roommate? What's this about a new roommate?"

"Haku showed up with a new girl who obviously hates me a lot for no apparent reason. I have a feeling it's something to do with me being a human," she deadpanned.

"What's up with that guy…" Shou sank back into his seat, stroking his chin and furrowing his brows in deep thought.

"He's probably telling me to leave in a very subtle manner. So could you bring me back?"

He held up a hand. "Hold your horses, girl. It's a policy in this shelter to have a room completely occupied before we can use another room. It's easier for us to keep records like that. Come on, Chihiro. Haku wouldn't scheme like that— Okay, maybe he would, but he wouldn't do that to you."

The girl remained dubious of this but decided to drop it. "Why wouldn't he do that to me?"

The blonde gave her the _are-you-stupid_ look. "You're either really stupid, or very dense."

Slapping him on the arm, she frowned at him. "I'm not dense! Haku's very hard to read!"

"Oh, go on," he answered mockingly.

"I'm serious!"

"What do I do with the two of you…"

Chihiro huffed and leaned back in her seat, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm leaving by myself then."

"You can't; you don't even know where you are."

The woman opened her mouth in protest but could find no valid argument against that point. True, she had no idea where she was and only Shou or Haku could send her back home.

"This is kidnap," she stated coldly.

"What kind of a kidnapper gives you a room in a grand shelter?"

"And a potential murderer for a roommate," she pointed out.

"You've got me and Haku to protect you, so there's no need to worry."

"But—"

"If you want to, I can always move in," he added with a wriggle of his brows.

"But—"

"You're so stubborn, Chihiro. See how it goes for the next few days and we'll talk again."

"I'm going to be here for another few days?" Chihiro nearly screeched.

"Ask Haku."

She sighed in defeat. There was no point in arguing with this blonde.

"Don't get mad, dear. How about I bring you up to Haku's office now so you can ask him by yourself?"

Perking up, she nodded eagerly.

* * *

"How long is Haku going to take?"

"I'm not very sure about that; he's quite the busy man, if you know what I mean," Shou wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

When Chihiro averted her gaze, he clapped once, startling the girl. "What?"

"I know that look; you're jealous."

"Am not!" she protested.

"Am too!"

"Am not!"

"Shou, could you help out with the young cubs? They've been… you know." A beautiful woman looking to be in her twenties emerged at the door, cutting in to the two's childish bickering. She leaned against the doorframe with her legs twisted in a seductive manner. Her wavy purple curls licked her face, resting casually by her thin, slender arms. Her enchanting indigo eyes ran over the pair and her lips were tugged up in a coy smile as she gazed at the man expectantly.

"Not again… I'll be there…" Shou turned to Chihiro. "Just wait till Haku gets here, yeah? Don't fall or trip or anything like that while I'm gone."

She playfully slapped his arm in response. "I'm not an idiot; I can take care of myself."

"Whatever you say," he answered in a sing-song voice and sauntered out of the room. Before he could leave though, he turned back and winked to her, using his eyes to gesture at the hot lady beside him.

"_I told you the ladies love me,"_ she could imagine him say. Rolling her eyes at him, she turned back to the window by Haku's desk and heard the door close behind them.

She tapped her fingers on the smooth, cold surface of the table, humming to herself. They had been waiting for quite a while already but Haku hadn't shown up. He would probably be around in a couple more minutes.

Sighing, Chihiro leaned against the window, staring at the field filled with the playful and adorable children. She eyed them, envious. Being young was nice.

Out of the blue, her eyes caught a little girl in a bright yellow dress trip and fall. She was a clumsy one, even managing to end up rolling comically on the grass once before coming to a stop with her face flat down in the dirt. In a matter of seconds her body was shaking slightly. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was crying.

Wondering if she should go down to take a look—she'd always had a soft spot for those adorable things—she then spotted a man jogging towards the little girl.

His glossy green hair reflected the sunlight, making it seem like a radiant, glorious mane around his head. Kneeling down on the grass, he picked the little girl up with ease and dusted off the grass blades and dirt off of her soiled dress.

He wiped the tears away from the wailing girl's round face before ruffling her hazel brown hair, beaming at her which prompted her to smile back. He said some words to her which seemed like the words of her ideal prince charming. Her plump cheeks turned rosy and she threw her arms around his neck, letting him carry her with ease.

A tiny smile played on Chihiro's lips. Haku had always been there to help out and to comfort, even if it were someone he didn't know. Then it dawned on her that one of the reasons for that gaping hole in her heart that could never seem to be mended was that she had missed that side of Haku. She missed seeing him worried, seeing him smile, seeing him laugh.

Before she knew it, her cheeks were wet. In her haste to step away and dry them, her waist knocked against the sharp part of the table. Crying out in pain and flailing her arms about wildly to keep her balance, she mistakenly knocked some papers and a book onto the floor.

Landing with a loud thump, she winced at the new sore spot on her waist while the huge mess of papers fell like snowflakes, gently falling to the floor with a collective shuffle.

Chihiro anxiously got to her feet, feeling bad for causing trouble in Haku's office. Maybe she did need Shou to keep an eye on her.

Great, now Shou had managed to brainwash her into thinking she really was stupid.

"I'm sorry…" she apologized to no one in particular, while hastily gathering up the papers and setting them on the table in a neat pile before going to retrieve the book.

The notebook was encased in a leather covering, and it lay half open on the ground, letters and envelopes spilling out of it. As Chihiro got to retrieving them and shuffling them into a neat pile though, a certain word on one of the letters caught her eye.

_Chihiro._

Feeling a jolt in her nerves, she hesitated. Basic courtesy would be to respect one another's privacy. That was just one reason up against the many questions popping up in her head, however.

Besides, since it concerned her, she had a right to know, didn't she?

Picking the smooth piece of paper up, she scanned through its contents. The words were written in fanciful, cursive handwriting. It made her feel as if she was reading the diary of the historical English figures, except that it a letter in some notebook of Haku's.

A brief feeling of guilt washed over her but she shrugged it off. Curiosity killed the cat, but curiosity still won her over.

As she skimmed through some of the content about the shelter, she noticed the letter was addressed to her.

She stopped at one of the sentences which wrote:

"… …_not once have I forgotten, Chihiro… …"_

Chihiro did not even hear the door open until it slammed tightly shut, nearly breaking off its hinges in the process. In her shock, she dropped the paper and looked on at the livid, red-faced man standing by the door.

But his intimidating stance had no effect on her whatsoever. Right then, she was probably just as livid, yet at the same there was this sinking feeling in her chest that made her want to throw up.

"You," he growled, not bothering to hide the venom and anger in his voice, "who gave you the permission to go through my possessions?"

The numb girl remained silent. One could probably hear the booming drum of her erratic heartbeat.

"What did you read? How much did you read?" He spat every word like they were poison on his tongue.

To that, her lips tugged up sardonically, surprising herself. "I read enough." Her tone was neutral, distant and cold, if anything.

Haku was speechless. Raking his fingers through his hair, he suddenly laughed bitterly. "So, you know everything?"

Chihiro looked away, well aware she had reached the limit of her emotional capacity. She pursed her lips as Haku walked towards her.

As he got closer, she backed away until her heels met the glass walls of the window. Keeping her gaze lowered, she flinched when Haku's hands slammed loudly on either side of her face. The glass vibrated from the impact and for a moment she felt like she was falling prey to the beastly man in front of her.

She could feel his breath on her forehead, and she stuck her body as close to the wall as possible.

"How much do you know?" he repeated, a strain in his voice.

The mute girl refused to answer him, and so he tipped her chin up, forcing her to look in his eyes. Wordlessly, they stared at each other. Chihiro chewed on her lip for fear that she would break down the instant she opened her mouth to speak.

"I'll only ask this one more time. How much do you know?"

Taking a shaky breath, she blinked back the moisture in her eyes. "You've always remembered, haven't you?"

A few moments of silence passed between them before Haku gave a loud sigh. Whether it was relief or frustration, she could not differentiate. But it agitated her all the same.

She raised her hands to his chest and shoved him away to allow her to exit the room quickly. She wanted to save herself the humiliation, at the very least.

But of course, Haku would not even grant her that privilege. His hand grasped her wrist firmly, pulling her back. Chihiro whimpered at that, trying in vain to keep her tears from falling. Still, she kept her back facing him, refusing in all her pride to let him see her vulnerable.

"Wait."

So that was the first thing he would say to her? She reckoned she had waited more than enough for him.

"Chihiro, I—"

"I'm tired, let me go to the room, please," she cut him off.

"Rest here then. I need to explain."

"There's nothing more to explain, Haku."

"Yes, I owe you an explanation."

"I don't need an explanation; you don't owe me one in the first place."

"I'm still going to explain things to you."

"I don't want to talk."

Chihiro tried to wrench her hand from Haku's grasp but his hold was too tight; it was beginning to hurt. "It hurts, Haku, let go!"

Before she could say anymore, he pulled her into an embrace. She struggled against him, trying to push away, but his muscular arms encircling her prevented that, caging her in.

All she could do was to succumb, but the annoying thing was that she had already begun to cry.

Shaking with angry sobs, her fists hit the man over and over. "Just stop it, I can't take this anymore…"

"I apologize, Chihiro. I never meant for you to find out this way."

"You never meant for me to find out in the first place, did you?"

He remained silent.

"Why?" That was the only question Chihiro wanted him to answer. Why would he pretend to forget her when he supposedly still remembered?

"It's… complicated. That's all I can say."

"You know what? I really hate you." She clenched her teeth and taking advantage of him having loosened his hold, pushed him away and ran out of the room.

He yelled her name from behind which only spurred her on faster. Spirits walking along the corridor, at the sight of her tear-streaked face gaped and stared, some evenly unashamedly pointing at her and whispering among themselves.

She didn't care for any of that, though. All she wanted was to get away, to get away from Haku, away from the Spirit World, away from reality.

Chihiro sped down the halls, making various turns though she had no idea where she was going. She didn't care anymore, though. Now she had a fiery passion and desire to go back home, back to her family.

"Chihiro? What're you doing here?" someone called from behind her.

The girl quickened her pace, which only amused the blonde who jogged up next to her. "So what did Haku say?"

Turning sideways so he wouldn't see her face, she kept quiet and continued with her directionless walk.

"Hey, what's wrong? Why are you crying? What happened?" Shou brought his hand firmly down on Chihiro's shoulder, forcing her to stop and to turn around. She stubbornly kept her face down, though.

"I accidentally walked into a room full of onions…" she lied half-heartedly.

Shou snorted. "No kidding. But really," he bent down to look at her sparkly eyes, the skin on his forehead crinkling with concern, "what happened?"

"Can you… just bring me back… please?"

"Something happened, alright. What did that idiot say to you? I'm not doing anything until you tell me everything that went down between the two of you."

"But—"

"Not 'buts'. Maybe it's just a misunderstanding?"

Chihiro looked up fiercely at him. "A misunderstanding? It's anything but a misunderstanding, Shou!"

"Hey, you—"

"I just realized that I have wasted much of my life on some cheap 10-year-old girl's fantasy! I can't bear to stay anymore," she cried.

"You need to calm down. You're hyperventilating."

The girl's shaky knees buckled beneath her, and she would have fallen to the ground quite roughly had it not been for Shou who swept her up suavely in a bridal style. She breathed sharply and irregularly, eyes prickling with more tears.

"I want to go home…" she whimpered, seemingly reverting back to her 10-year-old self.

"Wait just a little longer. It isn't time for you to go yet." His words were final.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the late update; I'm dying with overflowing homework. In any case, I spent quite some time putting this together so I hope you liked it! I might be back to edit a little because I think it can be better, but for now I really need to get back to doing my work. Leave a review please!

Updated A/N: I nearly killed myself in school when I was re-reading this because I realize that there is so much that needed to be edited. . I'm sorry!

Not forgetting my reviewees:

**Ialiceiamagodness, Leeshyloo, NarutoSwagg99, Angelic Toaster, snowflowersister of toshiro241, Epic Thunder 101, Sereenalovesanime, FreeHummingBird11, Abcdefg824 **and** poseidonandpercy1213! **

I really appreciate all your encouragements; they really do keep me going! Thanks again and hopefully I'll see y'all again soon? ^^


	12. Suspension

The Wait: Suspension

"Run out of tears already, I see," Shou commented thoughtfully as he looked at the poor girl who'd been curled up in a ball on his bed bawling her eyes out like a little kid for the past 35 minutes.

She sniffled a couple more times, head peeking up from its hiding spot under her arms. Her eyes were all bleary and puffy. She looked at Shou who was sitting beside her on the bed, looking at her with the same concerned expression as he had on from before.

She nodded glumly in response. How much time had she spent crying? It felt like she'd aged a few years. Sooner or later silvery hair would sprout on her head from all this drama.

"Ready to tell me anything yet?"

Chihiro shook her head.

He sighed. "Are you ever going to be ready to tell me?"

She shook her head once more, closing her eyes.

"You know you can't keep all this bottled up, or you'll explode."

Any other time she would have snorted and shot a sarcastic remark back at him, but she just wasn't up for it. Not at this time.

"I'm not joking, I'm serious."

She frowned. Would he ever stop doing that mind-reading thing of his?

"No, I won't stop mind-reading, if that's what you're thinking," he smirked.

This time her eyes shot towards him, at last displaying something other than hopelessness and depression.

"If you don't tell me I'm just going to invade more of your privacy, smart girl. Think about it. At least you can censor whatever you're not comfortable with sharing with me if you tell me yourself."

Chihiro's now tiny eyes widened with horror upon realization. Shou could very well just dig into her mind and uncover every little secret she had.

No way was that ever going to happen. Not on her watch, at least.

"5," he taunted. "4…"

Before he could say anymore, she clamped her hand over his mouth, shooting him a warning glare before sitting up. He removed her hand and perked up his eyes, all ready to listen like a puppy.

The woman sighed, "Where… where do I start?" she whispered.

"You decide."

She hugged her knees to her chest, feeling rather exposed all of a sudden.

"I don't know where to start though…"

"Hmm… then let's start from the beginning?" he suggested.

The woman thought about it. It was going to take a while to say everything, but she figured they had time to burn, so she decided to go ahead with it.

She swallowed, licking her chapped lips to get some moisture into them before beginning her story-telling session in a tiny voice.

"I met Haku when I was little. It was during a family outing and when I happened to wander off, I accidentally dropped my shoe into the river. It was my favorite shoe, so I boldly ventured in to get it back, but I slipped and fell into the deeper end of it, nearly drowning. Then I remember…"

_A streak of brilliant, glossy white danced elegantly in the distance and she stared after it, blinking furiously as she did so. The shape grew bigger and bigger until she saw it in its full size. _

_The creature, performing gracefully in solitude in the water, upon sensing an unfamiliar presence, paused from its little pantomime and swam up to her. It came to a slow stop, cautiously keeping a safe distance from her. It did nothing; the creature simply stared, as if watching her every move to judge for itself if she was a friend or foe._

_Her eyes could not see much; it was hard to keep them open under water, but she could recall its jade green eyes staring intently into hers. She held her breath, but in a matter of seconds felt her chest constricting agonizingly. She needed air._

_The little girl opened her mouth, but a huge mouthful of freshwater entered through the modest passage, choking her badly. She wanted to gasp for air but as the water flowed into her nostrils as well, pain was etched onto her features. As the color of her face began to fade from its rosiness into a sickly blue-ish color, her eyes, locked with the dragon's, screamed for help. It continued staring at her, unmoving, seemingly fascinated by her. _

_She then noticed the waters that seemed to dance around her, as if a predator ready to consume her whole. Any tears shed by her were swept away by the currents. As dark spots began to fill her vision, her fear peaked, paralyzing her all the more. _

"_Mommy… Daddy…" In her mind she began to cry, completely defenseless in the hands of the waters. No one was going to save her. Was it the end of her? Just because of her carelessness? _

_And then she felt it. She felt the waters move as something strong swiftly swooped under her body, hauling her up towards the surface where the bright light was. _

"It was Haku's river. He saved me. That was when we first met."

Shou nodded, looking to be rather intrigued by the news.

"And the second time we met was when I entered the Spirit Realm 10 years ago."

Now the man was appalled. "You've been here before?!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes… to cut the long story short, my parents got turned into pigs for eating food meant for the spirits and Haku helped me get a job at the bathhouse, in the end saving us."

"Hold it right there, miss. You got a job at Yubaba's bathhouse?"

"Yes..?"

"Like, the _witch,_ Yubaba?"

"Is there a problem?"

"How did you do that?"

Chihiro furrowed her brows in confusion. "I… asked?"

At that, Shou sighed exasperatedly, slapping his forehead. "Yubaba isn't the kind of witch to give in to spirits, let alone a human."

"Well… I unintentionally woke Bo up while asking for a job so I began to shout even louder and so in order to get me to shut up she let me sign the contract to work there."

It took a few seconds for him to register that before he broke into a huge grin.

"Very few spirits have the guts to challenge her, Chihiro. You did very well," he nodded admiringly.

"_You did very well."_

She grimaced at the memory, trying in vain to shrug off the nostalgia. It only made her feel worse. Shou noticed this and frowned.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

Shaking her head, she replied, "No, it's just… nothing."

Sensing her discomfort, he decided against pressing her. "Well then, is that all? You haven't told me what happened earlier."

At once Chihiro pursed her lips, forcing the incoming tears back.

"If you're not comfortable, then it's alright, I don't want to push you."

"No, it's alright," she hastily answered, "I just got very angry with him…"

"What did he do?" Suddenly Shou seemed to grow serious, a side she never thought she'd ever see of him. But to be honest, that side of him was kind of scary, with his steely eyes and clenched jaw.

All of a sudden he had some kind of over-protective aura around him, similar to the kind of protectiveness an older brother would have. At least, that was how many novels had described them to be. She had found herself longing for one for a long time.

"For the past 10 years, I've been holding on to an empty promise we made before I left this place. And now I realize that I've been so stupid all along," she paused, swallowing the lump in her throat and smiling bitterly.

"He lied about everything, as if he'd been toying with me right from the start. I've wasted the past 10 years holding on and waiting for him, and I just don't have that kind of time to spare any longer..."

Without realizing, Shou's hand was on her cheek, forcing her to look at him as his thumb brushed off several stray tears from her face. Instinctively, she locked her eyes to the side, averting her gaze.

"What do you mean you 'don't have that kind of time to spare any longer'?"

Oh great, he just had to pick on the detail she had wanted to hide. "…It's nothing."

"It's something important, isn't it?"

Chihiro bit her bottom lip, holding back the next round of waterworks to go.

"What exactly is going on with you?" his voice had risen a tad sharper, making her shrink back slightly.

"It's really nothing."

"If it's nothing you wouldn't be crying now."

"Let it go, Shou. It's really nothing,"

"I won't," he answered stubbornly.

"I'm not saying anything."

"If you're worried about me telling Haku, don't worry, I won't say a single word to him."

Chihiro hesitated for a moment. It couldn't hurt to tell Shou, could he? And in any case the stubborn kid wasn't going to let it go anytime soon, so there was no point in fighting him.

"Then," she started, "if I tell you, will you bring me back?"

That seemed to stump him for a bit, but his eyes remained fiercely determined. "No problem."

"Promise?"

"Swear."

She took a deep, shaky breath and closed her eyes. "I've been diagnosed with leukemia, which is, well, an illness among humans… It probably doesn't exist here."

"And?" he arched his eyebrow, prompting her to finish.

"I won't be living much longer."

Chihiro exhaled slowly. The quietness in the room was getting to her while she waited for Shou to absorb that piece of information. She wiped her tears away in the meantime and stared at the bed, feeling a little apprehensive of Shou's reaction.

"I'm… sorry…" he said unexpectedly, turning towards her with a look of pure agony and sadness in his eyes. She searched them, looking for the pity that everyone would feel for her, but there was none. Only genuine sadness filled those amber orbs of his.

"I'm sorry…" he repeated, looking down and grabbing hold of her hands, squeezing them tightly like her friends all did perhaps in act of assurance or out of fear of never being able to see her again.

"Don't be, I'm fine," she forced a smile.

To that, he looked up and smiled a smile of his own to her, but she recognized that smile. It was the same smile she had on in front of everyone else, masking the lifelessness beneath. He understood.

"You're one amazing woman, Chihiro."

* * *

Chihiro's hand set itself on the cool metal of the doorknob to her room, and was about to open it when Shou cut in, wanting to say something.

"About Haku…" She frowned upon mention of the man.

"What about him?"

"How should I put this… he, um… he has his reasons for his actions."

She rolled her eyes internally, incredibly dubious of what he said. What kind of reasons could Haku possibly have that did not include excuses?

"He pretended to forget you, right? He has his own reason for that. And there are many other things linked to this; it's a whole web of problems of his and you've only seen the tip of the iceberg—the part about him trying to forget you," Shou continued.

Chihiro pondered for a moment, trying to make sense of the things he was saying to her. To her it seemed like a puzzle, and for now, she'd only gotten one of the pieces to Haku's thoughts.

Then realization slapped her in the face. "Shou, do you know something that I should know?"

He scratched his head a little sheepishly. "Yes, but—"

"Tell me!" Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

Quickly, he clamped his hand over her mouth and looked around, afraid that they'd created too much noise. "Hush, the old folks are napping now," he chided.

She smacked his hand away and nodded before continuing in a lowered voice, "What do you know?"

"I'm not in a position to say anything," shooting a mild warning glance at her protests, "because all this is very personal to Haku. I can't just ignore his privacy, can I?"

A resigned Chihiro sighed heavily, "Then what do I do now?"

"Stay here for just a little bit more. Haku needs you. Believe it or not, he really does."

And then without another word, he turned on his heel and walked off quite briskly, feigning ignorance to the woman's protests.

She scratched her head. What did Shou mean? That guy spoke like such a kid, but he could be such an old man sometimes. Shaking her head, she opened the door into the room, nearly forgetting about her new roommate.

Her new roommate sat cross-legged on the bed that was all the way at the other end such that the two were separated by the empty bed in the middle. When she walked in, the raven-haired girl did not even seem to acknowledge her presence. Perhaps it was because her nose was stuck the pages of a book, furrowed brows and squinted eyes scrutinizing its content.

Chihiro decided against her better judgment to strike a conversation with the woman. She needed something to take her mind off things, and maybe they had merely started off on the wrong track, so she felt a raging need to set things right between them.

"Uh… hi, I'm Chihiro… Nice to meet you."

Her roommate's eyes were still stuck on the book, as if her ears had been shut completely, blocking out all noise around her.

Still, Chihiro tried again. "What's your name?"

There was no response whatsoever again.

Well, third time's the charm, right?

"Is that book nice? Could I take a look?" Chihiro felt horribly awkward and stupid. In such a magical place, even the simple third-time-charm was not working for her.

"Never mind…" She didn't want to intrude into her roommate's alone time with her book, so she plopped herself onto the bed. Lying flat on her stomach, her mind began piling up with thoughts and questions.

What was Shou talking about? Worry seeped into her when she began to list all the possible problems Haku could be facing. What was he hiding from her? And _why?_ Could it be something similar to her current plight? He was so hard to figure out.

But perhaps the most perplexing part was about Haku needing her. Who was Shou kidding? Haku, needing the help of a human? That had to be the biggest joke of the millennium. Haku was a mighty dragon and from the sound and looks of it, he was quite a powerful one too. Who would require anything from the lowest of the low in this place?

Maybe Shou was spouting nonsense to make her feel better. Yes, that was probably it.

Either that or he just didn't want her to leave so he had someone to tease more often. She rolled her eyes and smiled at that. That was obviously out, but she could use it to tease him later on if he refused to bring her home.

Just imagining the look of sheer distaste on his face made her smirk wider.

Momentarily forgetting that she was not alone in the room, the sudden sound of a book slamming close made Chihiro flinch. Her head snapped in her roommate's direction, who was now briskly making a beeline for the bathroom. Her panic was masked poorly which made Chihiro wonder what could have happened.

A sudden stomachache, perhaps? However, when the bathroom door remained locked for an extended period of time, she couldn't help but begin to worry.

* * *

"Dude, you messed up big-time."

"I'm not in the mood to play, Shou."

"Do I look like I'm joking? She was practically crying rivers!"

"There's nothing I can do about it. Send her back early, if you want."

Shou snorted and rolled his eyes. "I'm not sending her back when you two haven't patched up yet."

"There's nothing to make up for."

Shou slammed his hands on the table where Haku was busy with signing some papers. Without looking up, Haku set his quill down and leaned back against his armchair, folding his arms across his broad chest, sending Shou a chilly and challenging look.

"Quit with the 'cool guy' act, Haku. You know I don't buy it. I've known you long enough."

"I'm not in the mood for a lecture, Koushou."

Shou raised his brow. Haku almost never called him by his full name. He was definitely pissed. "Look, I'm not trying to lecture you and all that serious stuff," he cringed dramatically for the effect, "but I'm telling you, you just hurt Chihiro really badly back there."

Haku exhaled deeply, raking his hands through his hair, "I know… but I don't want her staying here for too long…"

"Oh really? Then what was with 'I don't know the directions to your place' thing?" mimicked Shou in an insultingly high-pitched voice that he knew annoyed Haku greatly.

"How did you know about that?"

"Chihiro told me," he winked, "so tell me again, you really don't want her to stay?"

Shou knew he got him when Haku hung his head down, hair shielding his face, because that was the dragon's silent defense when he could not find a comeback against an argument.

And it was in moments like these that Haku was most ripe for teasing.

"Aww, is the most eligible bachelor in all of the Spirit Realm bashful?"

To his delight, Haku's head shot up with a murderous glare in his eyes, though his slightly pinker face betrayed his oh-so-malicious demeanor. Haku growled at him, "You better zip that mouth shut, or I'm hurling you out the window and putting you in a world of hurt."

Shou feigned a horrified expression, resembling that of a little girl afraid of demons creeping up her futon at night. "Have mercy, O great Kohaku!"

The dragon seemed about ready to explode and raised his tightly balled fist against Shou, who, realizing he was really about to get hit, backed away swiftly. He grinned cheekily, "Calm down, I was just messing with you a little. Don't get your scales in a flurry."

"I swear, one of these days I'll pluck all of your golden feathers out and drown them in the swamp."

"Chihiro will save me; I have no qualms about that."

Then he burst out laughing when Haku knocked him against the wall in utter exasperation before wincing and rubbing a new sore spot on his head.

* * *

A/N: Gosh I'm really sorry about the late update; I've been horribly busy these few weeks! Slept at 2 or 3am the past week lol. Good times~ I can't talk too much; I gotta get back to studying cuz' I have like, two tests tomorrow oh gossshhh someone just kill me. .

I'll come back here to edit anything that needs to be edited, and I wanted to apologize about the previous chapter. I nearly killed myself after spotting the mistake. Chihiro read a letter from Haku, not his diary yeah! Originally I wanted it to be a diary, but was like, nah afterwards.

Was freaking mind-blown by all your responses to the previous chapter haha :D Thanks for all your support! They've really encouraged me! Btw, the next update might take a while because my end-of-year exams are coming up in October and the entire month of September's gonna be really hectic, so… Thanks for your patience!

Not forgetting my reviewees:

**Ialiceiamagodness, michelle88222, Pale-Face, Angelic Toaster, fran soares, EpicThunder101, snowflowersister of toshiro241, Sereenalovesanime, NarutoSwag99, fandomnerd12, Abcdefg824, Lana, diety, FreeHummingBird11, poseidonandpercy1213, Strawberryshortc **and** Vivstar! **

Abcdefg824: Lol well teachers are just… you know how they are haha. Especially in us Asian countries so :P Will try my best to update asap though! (((:

Lana: Thanks dear! Awww hahaha you rock!

Strawberryshortc: Aww lol thanks dear! Really encouraging hehe :3


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